H’s Swap: Sept 21– Eggplant & Zucchini Couscous Rolls

A fully vegetarian meal this week for the swap:

• Eggplant & Zucchini Couscous Rolls
• Hummus, with pita and baby carrots for dipping (I’ve posted about this hummus before– for my recipe, click here)

I don’t know about you, but we have more mint than we could ever know what to do with. Mint is so invasive. It has totally taken over a good portion of our front garden. I cut it and put it in vases in the house (it smells so good!). We make some rockin’ mojitos. And I try to cook with it whenever I can. Still, there is a huge over-abundance of it. In trying to think of a good way to make use of at least some of this mint, I remembered this good old dinner that I used to make years ago. I had not made it since Kyle and Owen came home (it is a relatively labor-intensive meal), so I had never tried it out on the bambinos, but I decided to give it a whirl this week for the swap.

Very good friends of ours from Boston, Jeff & Angelica, first introduced this to me. Angelica was/is a great cook, and we used to love going over to their apartment for dinner. She (Angelica) is Chilean, and would often make dinners inspired by her roots in Chile. She was also health conscious, and would often cook straight out of Eating Well or Cooking Light magazine. It was always delicious, and was inspiring– to say the least. Anyway, one night, she made this meal for us and we absolutely loved it. I can still vividly remember sitting at their table and tasting it. Isn’t it funny how food can flood your memories like that? Soon after that dinner, I ended up buying the cookbook that she found the recipe in– The Eating Well Rush Hour Cookbook— and have since made lots of recipes from it, but this one is still my favorite. I used to make it a lot for dinner guests when Braydon and I were a childless, fun-loving, fancy-free couple throwing dinner parties every-other-weekend. (ancient history!). Anyway, over the years I’ve tinkered with this recipe quite a bit. The original version was using just eggplant, but since zucchini (in addition to eggplant!) is spilling over at the same time of year as mint (!), I like to include it too. Here is my version (swap style! i.e., enough for two families!):

Eggplant & Zucchini Couscous Rolls

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2 1-lb eggplants

2 1-lb zucchinis (or 4 half pound zucchinis)

2 boxes of couscous (I use Near East Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil)

6 Tbs chopped fresh mint

4 cups of a good quality marinara sauce

2 cups crumbled feta

olive oil

salt

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Preheat oven to 425. Slice eggplants and zucchinis length-wise into slices about 1/3-1/2 inch thick. Salt the eggplant slices liberally on both sides, place them on paper towels, and cover with paper towels on top too (this is a trick to take the bitterness out of the eggplant– fyi: it works like a charm when making eggplant parmesan too!). Let the eggplant lie like that for awhile (anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour). Brush both sides of the eggplant and zucchini slices with olive oil. Arrange in single layers on baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, turn over, and bake for another 10 minutes or more, until lightly browned and tender. Remove from baking sheets and let cool. Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to package directions. Once couscous is fully cooked, mix in the mint. Lightly oil a baking dish (or– my preference, just because it looks pretty!– a circular pie dish). Get ready to assemble! Take a handful of couscous mixture and press into a small “ball” in the palm of your hand (just like making rice or couscous balls). Place couscous ball in the center of an eggplant slice, then roll up the eggplant firmly around the couscous. Place, seam-side down, in the prepared dish. Continue with all of the eggplant and zucchini slices. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover, spoon marinara sauce on top, sprinkle with feta, and bake for 5  minutes more.  [I like to serve this with hummus and pita slices and/or a big Greek salad.]

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From: Heather

To: Shalinee
Date: Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 9:09 PM

Subject:  the swap

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Shalinee—

Well, after a crazy week we finally had your dinner tonight. The marina was a hit, but the spaghetti squash was a bust (for the kids only). They ate (some of) it, but not by voluntarily! Our rule is that everyone has to try everything – and they all abide – but the squash was pretty touch-and-go! 😉  Funny thing is, I’ve always cooked acorn squash each fall. They eat it, and like it. I’m pretty sure that it was the texture of the spaghetti squash that threw them off. It also didn’t help that I had done as you suggested and had a “back up” waiting in the wings – real spaghetti (i.e., pasta… that they knew was available upon request). Anyway, Braydon and I loved it. My mom has always made spaghetti squash, but never prepared that way. Loved your take on it. Oh—and your marinara was awesome! EVERYONE loved that!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have I mentioned lately?—I LOVE THE SWAP. Thank you! xo hbj

P.S. Our three bambinos ate enough of the eggplant & zucchini rolls to make a full meal of it, but it was definitely not a favorite! Not sure they’re lovin’ the swap as much as Mama!  😉

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