The Eggplant and Tuna Rolls, or as my son calls them, Tuna Eggplant, are a tasty and flavorful appetizer, a meat-free variant of the classic Piedmontese dish: Vitello Tonnato.
They are very easy to prepare and perfect for any occasion: whether it’s a finger food for a buffet aperitif, a tasty and original appetizer, or a quick lunch during the week, and even as a filling for a gourmet sandwich.
The Eggplant and Tuna Rolls also have the advantage of being prepared in advance, by grilling the eggplants ahead and then being “assembled” at the last minute.
To prepare them, simply clean the eggplants, grill them on a hot plate (or in the oven), put the ingredients for the tuna cream in a bowl, mix them with a fork and finally spread the creamy and enveloping tuna sauce over the grilled eggplant slices. Once the eggplant slices are rolled up and secured with a toothpick, you’ll be ready to serve a delicious and satisfying dish for guaranteed success.
If you don’t have eggplants available, you can easily replace them with other available vegetables like zucchini or bell peppers: the preparation procedure will be the same, only the vegetable used will change.
A recipe as simple as it is tasty, an original way to serve eggplants, using simple and genuine ingredients that can be prepared in a few easy steps and in just over half an hour are ready to serve.
If you like this recipe, also try
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 113.51 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 3.77 (g) of which sugars 2.23 (g)
- Proteins 6.39 (g)
- Fat 8.37 (g) of which saturated 0.59 (g)of which unsaturated 0.94 (g)
- Fibers 1.98 (g)
- Sodium 114.07 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (oval)
- 4.2 oz tuna in oil
- 4.2 oz cream cheese
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- to taste capers in salt
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Cast iron plate
- Bowl
Steps
First, clean the eggplants, wash and dry them. Then cut them in half lengthwise and slice them to a thickness of about 1/5 inch (if they are too thin they will dry out during cooking and become dry). Once the eggplants are sliced, you can cook them either in a pan or on the grill: I prefer the grill because I like the typical lines that form on the plate.
Heat the plate (or pan) very well, then place the eggplant slices, cook them for about 2 minutes – they should be golden with the grill lines well visible – then turn them to the other side and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. They should soften but remain quite firm otherwise they will crumble and you will not be able to fill and roll them.
Prepare the Tuna Cream. Put the cream cheese in a bowl (it must be cold from the fridge) and soften it by mixing it with a spoon. Drain the tuna, put it on a plate and crumble it with a fork. Add the tuna to the bowl with the creamy cheese and mix well to obtain a cream. If desired, add some minced capers with a knife. Once you have finished preparing the tuna cream, put it in a container, cover it with cling film in contact and let it rest in the fridge for a few minutes.
Now you are ready to assemble the Eggplant Rolls. Place the grilled eggplants on a cutting board, place a tablespoon of tuna cream on each slice, then roll them up to form many rolls (you can secure them with wooden toothpicks if you prefer). Place the Rolls on a serving dish, drizzle them with a little olive oil and sprinkle them with freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy your meal!
NOTES
EGGPLANTS The best quality of eggplants for grilling are the purple ones that have a slightly more spongy flesh and a less bitter and distinct flavor compared to the black ones. However, you can also use long purple eggplants and even round ones. If you prefer, you can replace them with another vegetable like zucchini or bell peppers.
For this preparation, I prefer not to season the eggplants before stuffing them, but if you want to make this recipe even tastier, you can prepare an emulsion of oil and apple cider vinegar, add chopped parsley and garlic and a pinch of salt and season the eggplants before stuffing them.
If you want perfect rolls, drain the tuna very well before adding it to the cream cheese to prevent the tuna cream from becoming too liquid and risk dripping away from the rolls.
For the same reason, let them rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving so that the filling slightly firms up.
CAPERS: you can add them minced to the cheese and tuna cream or alternatively use chopped olives (green or black). Even chopped arugula goes well with this filling.
GRILLING EGGPLANTS IN THE OVEN
Instead of on the grill, you can grill the eggplants in the oven. In this case, after cleaning and slicing the eggplants, sprinkle them with an emulsion prepared with 2 parts oil and one part water. Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and cook them for about 20/25 minutes in a preheated static oven at 356°F.
STORAGE
Once ready, Eggplant and Tuna Rolls can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can prepare the grilled eggplants in advance and do the same with the tuna sauce, keeping them separate each in its container until assembling a few minutes before serving.
