Involtini di Melanzane (cont'd)
Preparation:
Tomato Sauce: Heat the 2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic until golden. Add the chopped tomatoes, wine, the 2 teaspoons of sugar and taste for salt and pepper. Let it simmer over low heat, stirring now and then while you prepare the eggplants.
Eggplants & Filling: Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil. Warm a frying pan and fry slices for about 2 minutes on each side or until they begin to get golden. Add extra oil to the pan if eggplants seem too dry. Set aside on a paper towel.
Preheat oven at 200°C (400°F).
In a bowl mix the ground lamb or beef, the chopped red pepper,onion and garlic. Add the Cayenne pepper, sweet paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and the beaten egg. Mix all well. Make little sausages out of the meat mix. They should be almost as long as the widest part of the eggplant slice. Lay the meat sausage on the widest end of the eggplant slice and start rolling the eggplant slice carefully around the meat. Secure with a toothpick.
Oil a baking dish with olive oil and pour the tomato sauce in it. Arrange the eggplant rolls side by side on the tomato sauce. Cover dish with an aluminum foil and bake it for 40 minutes.
While the eggplants are baking, crumble the feta cheese. At the end of the baking time, sprinkle the feta cheese (you can also use Parmesan cheese) on top of eggplants and put it for another 5 minutes in the oven.
Remove the toothpicks. Do not serve it piping hot. Involtini di Melanzane taste best when eaten a bit cooler or, if you like, at room temperature. Serve with a nice crusty bread.