Eggplant Roll Ups

This is one of the BEST recipes I have ever tried!!!!

Okay, I had to get that out of the way.  I know I usually make you wait until the end to get the verdict on any recipe but I really couldn't wait to tell you that I just loved this.  

This recipe comes from a Rocco Dispirito book I got from the library.

It's called the Negative Calorie Diet.  

Again, I'm not looking at a different eating plan but I'm always looking for new recipes and the recipes in his book are very plan friendly.  

You can the recipe here on the Dr. Oz site as well as below.    

Before you start this first know that you're going to need to soak your almonds overnight.  

I had never done this and it was really exciting to try something new.  

Ingredients

Olive oil cooking spray

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup diced red bell pepper

One 10 oz bag washed spinach

1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp chopped garlic

Crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup fresh basil leaves, firmly packed

3 cups crushed tomatoes

1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices

Salt

1/2 cup toasted almonds, soaked overnight in enough water to cover

1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated on a microplane grater

Instructions

Preheat the grill to 350 degrees F.  

Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with the cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and bell peppers to the hot skillet and cook until soft, 3-5 minutes.

Add the spinach and cook until wilted and the water has evaporated.  Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and set aside.  Spray the skillet again and place over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook until a deep golden brown.  Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and half the basil leaves and saute just long enough to wilt the basil.  Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture reaches a thick sauce consistency, 3-5 minutes.  

Spray the eggplant slices with cooking spray and season with salt.  Grill the eggplant on each side until lightly charred, about 1 minute per side.  Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the bowl with the vegetables, season with salt and red pepper flakes, and mix well.

Place the eggplant slices on a clean work surface, making 4 overlapping, 5-inch-wide x 10-inch-long rectangles.  Place an even amount of the vegetables and some of the remaining fresh basil leaves on each rectangle and roll up.  Place the rolls on top of the remaining sauce in the skillet and spoon some of the sauce over each roll.  Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes.

Place the almonds in a blender with just enough of the soaking water to blend them and process on high until it's a thick and smooth ricotta-like consistency, about 1 minute.  Remove from the blender and place in a small bowl, add the cheese and season with salt.  Pool a little sauce from the skillet on top of each roll with the almond mixture.  

Here's a peak~

The next day I put them in the food processor with a little of the soaking liquid.  You're going for the consistency of ricotta cheese.  

Now I think Rocco had to have removed the skins from his almonds as his almond puree was fluffy and white as a cloud but mine was not.  

Still, it tasted good and we all know how many nutrients are in the skins of fruits, vegetables and some nuts.  So, added bonus!

This is post puree.  

And below is after the addition of the grated Parmesan cheese.  

Above sauteed orange bell pepper with onion.

Below, I finally got to use my new mandolin to get the eggplant slices.  

And, it worked like a charm!  Woo hoo!

Add the spinach.  

I didn't have any fresh basil so I used dried.  Still tasted great.  

Now to roll em' up....

Add the tomato sauce and bake.

After they're out you top it with the almond mix.  

What I changed~ I didn't feel like having to grill the eggplant slices first.  I'm also not so great at grilling as things often stick and so forth.  So, instead I microwaved them for one minute.  

And it turned out just fine.  I also added an extra sprinkle of both garlic salt and onion powder to each eggplant slice before I baked them.  

You already know what I thought of this recipe.

I LOVED it!  Something happens when you take the time to bake things like this in the oven.  The flavors just blend and get more intense.  

The roll ups without the almond mix are ZERO pts!!!!

With 1/4 of the mix it's 3 pts.  

Definite win that I will most definitely make again.

Happy Cooking!!!