This a delicious, but I wish I had a grill as it suggest and that my eggplant had been bigger. In the future for this recipe it will be better to have a large size eggplant so you can roll it without fear of breaking the eggplant slices. Nonetheless, this was delicious. I am a huge fan of eggplant so this is def going to be on repeat. Visit previous blog post to check out other eggplant recipes such as Curried Eggplant, Squash, & Chickpea Mixer , Grilled Eggplant with Tomato, Basil & Feta, Sweet & Spicy Eggplant & Tofu Stir Fry , Stuffed Eggplant | La Dolce Vita, and Eggplant Parmigiana. Can you tell I love Eggplant? I love all things that have nutritional value and eggplant is a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1 and copper. In addition, it is a good source of manganese, vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, folate and vitamin K.
Dice two outer (end) slices of eggplant, with the peel, and set aside to add to the filling. Use 2 tsp of the olive oil to brush the remaining eight eggplant slices sparingly on both sides. Heat a ridged griddle or heavy frying plan and brown the eggplant slices for about 2 minutes on each side or until tender but not soft. Set aside.
Add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the onion, half of garlic, the red and green peppers, zucchini, and reserved diced eggplant for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the parsley and half of the diced tomatoes, and continue to cook for another 5-6 minutes.
Season the vegetable mixture, add the sugar, and pour in the tomato puree. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture if richly flavored and thickened.
In a bowl, combine the remaining garlic and diced tomatoes with the chopped basil and mozzarella. Set this topping mixture aside.
Lightly season the eggplant slices. Place a generous serving of vegetable filling at the wider end of one slice and roll up to enclose the filling. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices and filling, place the rolls aside in a ovenproof dish.
Spoon the tomato and mozzarella mixture evenly over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until cheese topping has melted. Garnish with basil sprigs. Enjoy!