Seems fancy, but is actually pretty easy, especially if you have marinara already on hand (see below). If you don’t want to use a tofu ricotta, try cooked quinoa or cous cous instead – also easier!
Eggplant Roll-Ups
Prepare the eggplant (1 large):
Heat oven to 400. Cut ends off eggplant and slice lengthwise into 6 pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake 6 minutes, turn over, and bake 6 more minutes. Set aside.
While baking the eggplant, start the sauce…
Sauce
You can use a jar of marinara instead if you have it; just warm it up and add 3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint before serving.
- 1 tsp olive oil or 2 Tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp crushed garlic or one clove minced
- can diced tomatoes, no salt added
- pinch salt
- chopped fresh basil or pinch dried
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 3 Tbsp fresh mint, minced (optional – sounds weird, I know, but it’s good)
Heat oil or water on medium; add garlic and saute briefly. Add next 3 ingredients. Simmer 15 minutes on medium-low heat, then add tomato paste, stir, and cook an additional 15 minutes. Stir in chopped mint before serving.
While the sauce is simmering, make the filling…
Vegan Ricotta Filling
- 16 oz firm tofu
- 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 lb chopped fresh spinach
- cube vegetable bouillon (I recommend Rapunzel brand)
- pepper
Heat a pan on medium. Meanwhile, mash up the tofu with a fork or potato masher and mix in the nutritional yeast. Add the mixture to the pan. If the tofu is pretty dry, add a little water to dissolve the bouillon in – otherwise just add the bouillon.
Stir to mix and dissolve.
Add the spinach, cover, and simmer on medium-low stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the spinach is completely wilted. Set aside.
To assemble:
Spoon some filling in the center of the eggplant slab and then roll up. Repeat with each. Top with sauce.
