Rosemary Eggplant Roll is another demonstration of the versatility of this wonderful vegetable. Here, I use eggplant as a wrap for a delicious little appetizer. Its sweetness, contrasted with the savory rosemary garlic spread, is tantalizing to the palate. Delicious!

Preparing the eggplant wrap reminded me of the Chinese wonton, a delicate wrapper folded around a flavorful filling. Traditional wonton wrappers are rolled thin, cut into squares, filled, and sealed around the edges. Their shapes and fillings vary, adding to the charm of these little parcels.

Often served in broth, wontons bring together delicate textures and savory flavors. The Cantonese name is commonly translated as “swallowing clouds,” evoking the appearance of little clouds floating in soup. What a beautiful image!

Eggplant makes an excellent raw wrap because it can be paired with so many flavors sweet, spicy, or anything in between. For this creation, I chose a sweet marinade to complement the savory combination of garlic and rosemary.

Please enjoy!

Rosemary Eggplant Roll

Ingredients:

1 medium to large sized eggplant
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp. tamari
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Directions:
Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Then cut each slice in half. Place the slices in an air tight container and set aside.

Marinade Sauce:
Place all the ingredients in a large measuring cup and whisk together. Dip each piece of eggplant into the marinade sauce. Pour the marinade sauce over the eggplant slices and cover. Marinade in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Take a dehydrator tray with a teflex sheet and place the eggplant slices individually onto the sheet in rows. Keep the marinade sauce in the container for basting, and put back into the refrigerator. Dehydrate the eggplant at 145 degrees for 1 hour. Remove the tray from the dehydrator, flip over the eggplant slices and baste them with the marinade sauce. Continue dehydrating at 115 degrees for 4 hours. Remove from the dehydrator, flip the slices and baste them again. Continue dehydrating at 115 degrees for 4 hours more. Remove from the dehydrator and set aside.

Rosemary Garlic Spread Ingredients:
1 cup soaked cashews in filtered water for 4 hours
1 tsp. Himalayan sea salt
1 heaping tbsp. finely chopped fresh garlic
½ tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 cup filtered water
2 tbsp. finely chopped rosemary

Directions:
Drain and rinse the cashews. Place them in a high speed blender with water, salt, garlic, onion powder, nutritional yeast, black pepper, and lemon juice. Blend until creamy smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Hand mix in the rosemary.
Makes 1 cup

Assembly:
Take 4 pearl tomatoes and slice them into ¼” thick slices lengthwise and then cut the slices in half. Place the eggplant slices onto a chopping block in rows. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over all the slices in a layer 1/8” thick. Place the tomatoes horizontally onto one end of each slice. Roll each slice up into a roll. Place them onto a serving plate. Put a small floret of cheese on top of each one with a rosemary and tomato garnish and serve immediately. Do not let them sit out because they will get soggy. In case they do, place them back into the dehydrator at 115 for an hour or so to firm up.

Please refer to the picture for assembly.

Makes approximately 12 rolls.

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.