Eggplant Beef Rollups

Food and Prop Styling by Chana Rivky Klein
Food Prep and Consultant Chaya Surie Goldberger
Photography by Felicia Perretti

These are like little meat raviolis that use eggplant instead of pasta and sesame seeds instead of tomato sauce! So maybe not like ravioli at all, but you understand my mind’s direction. Serve these rollups with a side of spicy mayo or oyster sauce to create an appetizer that’s both fun and different, and ever so slightly reminiscent of Italian cuisine. But again, not really at all.

SERVES 8–10

• 2 long eggplants, cut vertically into very thin slices
• salt, for sprinkling

Meat Mixture

• 1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef or lamb
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
• 3 cubes frozen garlic
• 2 cubes frozen ginger
• 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 bunch scallions, cleaned and diced
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Topping

• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• salt, for sprinkling
• sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425°F (230°C).

Place eggplant slices on a paper towel and liberally season with salt. Allow to rest for an hour. Dry the water droplets off the eggplant.

Meanwhile, mix sliced garlic with sesame oil and set aside.