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(This is not the actual picture of the dish, but I don’t know where they have gone – so imagine these eggplant slices rolled around the cheese (which is dotted with fresh herbs) on top of couscous instead of salad!)

We got some really cute eggplants at the Farmers Market recently. I didn’t really have a dish in mind for how to prepare them, but I love eggplant, so I knew I would get inspiration at some point. They sat in the fridge for about a week, and then I got a bright idea! Recently we had gone out to eat and I had a rolled, stuffed eggplant dish that was breaded in panko and fried. I didn’t really want to fry the eggplant, but I wanted to roll them and stuff them. I love the combination of chevre and eggplant, and I had some nice chevre in the fridge. I stuffed the eggplants with fresh herbs and chevre and broiled them in the oven. I drizzled balsamic-pomegranate reduction over top and served it with raisin and pine nut dotted couscous. The flavors were really magical and took my taste buds to new heights! I was really pleased with the way the dish turned out – I think the combination of herbs really made it. This is a great dish for the last days of summer and I am betting it would be phenomenal on the grill!

INGREDIENTS:

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3 small eggplants
8 oz. chevre
handful of fresh mint leaves
handful of fresh basil leaves
handful of fresh parsley
3 scallions
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil to drizzle before broiling

1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 cup pomegranate syrup

couscous cooked according to the package, drizzled with olive oil and mixed with 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts and 1/4 cup raisins.

METHOD:

Cut the eggplants lengthwise in thick slices. Place them in a salt water bath for 30 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 350 F. After 30 minutes rinse and squeeze out the water. Place slices on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10-15 or until soft. Place a TBS of chevre and a pinch of herbs on each slice and roll up the eggplant. Secure with a toothpick. Set the oven to broiler setting.

In a small sauce pan combine the balsamic and pomegranate syrup. Heat up on medium – low and reduce by half.

While the sauce is reducing, place the eggplant rolls on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Broil on high for about 5-7 minutes or until golden – be careful not to melt the cheese too much!

Serve over couscous. Serves about 4.