Grilled Eggplant Aubergine Parcels Recipes

ITALIAN GRILLED EGGPLANT WITH BASIL AND PARSLEY (MELANZANE GRIGLIATE AL BASILICO E PREZZEMOLO)

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Brush eggplant lightly with olive oil on both sides. Stir together remaining olive oil, garlic, and salt in a small bowl.
• Arrange eggplant slices on the preheated grill and cook, turning occasionally, until tender and browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Arrange grilled eggplant on a platter. Brush with the olive oil and garlic mixture until eggplant has absorbed the oil. Sprinkle with the chopped basil and parsley and serve.

GRILLED EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) PARMESAN

Steps:

• Stir cheese mix, breadcrumbs, and 1/3 cup basil in medium bowl to blend.
• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Sprinkle eggplant and tomatoes with salt and pepper. Brush 1 side of eggplant slices with some oil. Grill, oiled side down, until bottom side is tender and grill marks appear, about 3 minutes. Brush second side of eggplant slices with more oil; turn over and top grilled side with tomatoes, then cheese mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Drizzle with remaining oil. Cover and grill until tomatoes are tender and cheese melts, about 7 minutes. Transfer eggplant slices to plates. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.

GRILLED EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) PARCELS

Steps:

• Remove the stalks from the eggplants and slice lengthwise into 1/4" slices.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the eggplant slices for 2 minutes.
• Drain and pat slices dry with paper towel.
• Take 2 eggplant slices and arranged in a cross.
• Assemble with a slice of tomato in the center, season with salt & pepper, next a basil leaf and then a slice of mozzarella, another basil leaf, another tomato and more seasoning.
• Fold the ends of the eggplant slices around the filling.
• Chill the parcels for 20 minutes in fridge.
• To make the sauce, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, tomato paste, and lemon juice.
• Season with salt & pepper.
• Baste the eggplant parcels with sauce and grill for about 10 minutes, turning once.

GRILLED EGGPLANT, RED BELL PEPPER AND ARUGULA ROLLS

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Whisk together vinegar and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Grill until cooked through, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from grill; brush with 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Cool.
• Grill bell peppers until blackened on all sides. Wrap in paper bad and let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed peppers. Cut into 1/4-inch strips. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. cover; chill eggplant and bell peppers separately.)
• Place eggplant slices on work surface. Place 4 bell pepper strips on 1 end of each eggplant slice; top with 2 to 4 arugula sprigs, allowing peppers and arugula to extend beyond both sides of eggplant. Sprinkle pine nuts atop arugula. Roll eggplant up. Place seam side down on platter. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover.)

GRILLED EGGPLANT SANDWICH

Steps:

• Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill. In a small bowl, combine garlic with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Brush garlic oil on cut sides of bread and grill until lightly toasted on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Top bottom half with cheese.
• Brush eggplant with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender and lightly charred, 12 to 15 minutes, flipping once. Layer eggplant on cheese. Brush tomatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until lightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes, flipping once. Layer tomatoes on eggplant, top with basil, and sandwich with top half of bread. Cut crosswise into 4 pieces and serve.

MELTING-MIDDLE AUBERGINE PARCELS

Steps:

• To make the dressing, blitz all the ingredients, except the oil, in a food processor; then, with the motor still running, drizzle in the oil. Tip into a bowl and set aside.
• Trim off either end of the aubergines and discard. Slice the aubergines lengthways into 16 slices in total. Over a barbecue (or on a hot griddle pan), heavily mark the aubergine slices on each side to soften, then lift into a dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and season.
• Working methodically, make little stacks of a mozzarella slice, tomato slice and basil leaf. Wrap each stack in a grilled aubergine slice, then wrap a second slice in the other direction to try to cover the gaps and make a little bundle. Secure each parcel with a couple of cocktail sticks. Can be kept in the fridge overnight.
• Place the parcels on the barbecue and continue to char on each side until the cheese just starts to ooze out. Lift onto a platter, drizzle with the pesto dressing and serve. See time saving tip, below left.