Recipe - Grilled Eggplant Roulade

Grilled Eggplant Roulade with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper, Sweet Basil and St. George Cheese

Recipe by Chef Andrei Litvinenko
Kendall-Jackson Winery

Heirloom Black Bell eggplants are sliced thin, brushed with garlic olive oil and grilled. We then layer our roulade with roasted sweet Italian heirloom peppers, sun dried tomato pesto, sweet basil leaves and Matos Family St. George cheese. The combination of the concentrated flavors and smokiness of the vegetables with the aged cheese pairs well with the rich tannins and complexity of the Highland Estates Grizz Ridge Merlot, as well as our Stature Merlot.

Wine Pairing:

2002 Kendall-Jackson Highland Estates Grizz Ridge Merlot

Ingredients:

1 each medium eggplant (use your favorite variety)
3 each sweet red peppers
2 cloves garlic
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C. St. George cheese, grated (substitute parmesan if not available)
2 Tbsp. sun dried tomatoes
1 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts
1 bunch fresh sweet basil
kosher salt (to taste)

Preparation:

1. Peel and slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/8 inch pieces (a mandolin works well for this).

2. In a small sauté pan combine olive oil and garlic and slowly cook over low heat to infuse oil with garlic. Do not burn garlic. Remove from heat and reserve.

3. Brush eggplant slices with garlic oil, season with salt and grill on both sides until tender.

4. Brush peppers with garlic oil, season with salt and roast at 350 deg for ten minutes. Remove peppers from oven and place in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. When peppers have cooled, peel and deseed them, then cut into strips 1/4 inch wide.

5. To make the sun dried tomato pesto combine the sun dried tomatoes, cheese, pine nuts, 1/2 bunch basil and remaining garlic oil. Place into a food processor and blend thoroughly.

6. To assemble roulade, place a 18 inch piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Arrange eggplant slices, overlapping them, into a rectangle 6 inches by 12 inches. Spread a thin laver of pesto in the middle of the eggplant. Place pepper slices on top, down the middle. Arrange basil leaves on top. Carefully roll the plastic around the roulade. Twist ends to tighten. Chill for 1 hour, then slice into 2 inch pieces on the bias.

Visit Kendall-Jackson Winery:

Kendall-Jackson's Executive Chef Justin Wangler has created a special reserve wine and food tasting focusing on the winery's upper-tier Highland Estates and Stature wines. Visitors to the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center can sample some of the newest vintages of these rare and vineyard-designated wines, paired with a delectable array of tasty food samples, all served tapas-style.

The reserve wine and food pairing reflects the seasonal nature of the 2 1/2-acre Kendall-Jackson organic garden where most of the ingredients are harvested, and will be offered daily throughout the year. The cost for four samples of wine and food prepared by Wangler and his Culinary Team is $18 per person.