Eggplant Rose Bouquet
May 24, 2017 (Last updated Sep 12, 2021) by Hannah Sunderani
Eggplant Rose Bouquet
I’ve recently started a new hobby of eating eggplant daily! I love roasting the eggplant in oil until it’s super soft and supple. Add a little salt and pepper and OH MY it’s a revelation! Sometimes it astounds me how delicious simple can really be. But of course, simple to me means a challenge to get creative elsewhere, and so here we have this eggplant dish in the form of a rose bouquet!
How pretty is this bouquet of eggplant roses? I am so in awe of how this recipe turned so easily from everyday to gourmet! Really, anything in rose shape makes my heart skip a beat. Take my Apple Roses for example. There’s no doubt that my heart has a special place for bottles of rosé and big bouquets! And, what’s better than a bouquet of roses? Edible ones!
This eggplant, although looks fancy, requires minimal ingredients to make. All you need are a couple eggplants, some salt and pepper and olive oil. That’s it! In fact, I’ve left the ratio of ingredients for this recipe sort of open-ended to suit your taste preferences. For me, I love my eggplant with loads of sea salt, and finished with some sesame seeds and rosemary. But, just like a bouquet of flowers, everyone has their favourites. So feel free to mix it up!
To make the roses I used my mandoline and sliced the eggplant into long thin strips 1/8th inch wide. Then I sprinkled the eggplant strips with some sea salt and pepper and began rolling and securing the bottoms with toothpicks. Next, I filled my pan with the rolled eggplant (removing the toothpicks) to create what looked like a bouquet of roses. The size of your pan will depend on how many roses you get out of your eggplant, for me I used a 7-inch cake pan. (Full disclosure, I was planning to do this in my cast iron skillet, but it was too big! If yours fits I’d recommend using it!). From there, I gently painted the top of the eggplant roses with olive oil, trying to get into all the nooks and crannies. Then I sprinkled the bouquet with more sea salt (because why not) and popped it in the oven to bake.
The final outcome is a beautiful eggplant bouquet that will turn heads! And is sure to make your loved ones feel extra special. Because really, who doesn’t enjoy the loving gesture of a flower bouquet? And you’ve gone above and beyond with this dish. After all, you didn’t just come home with a bouquet of roses…you made one!
Hope you enjoy this delicious dish!
Eggplant Rose Bouquet
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup avocado oil or neutral oil, plus more for painting
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 eggplants small
- 3/4 tsp sea salt finely ground
- pinch pepper
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium. Fry rosemary until crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to a paper towel to drain; set rosemary oil aside.
- Using your mandoline slice eggplants lengthwise to be 1/8 inch thick. Roll eggplant and secure the ends with a toothpick.
- In a pan, or cast iron skillet, add the eggplant roses one by one to create a floral arrangement look. (Remove toothpicks from eggplant as you place them into the pan), and ensure the eggplant roses are tightly packed. (They will shrink when cooked).
- Drizzle and paint the eggplant with remaining rosemary oil getting into into all the nooks and crannies. Season with the juice of 1/2 lemon, sea salt and pepper.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Then remove from oven, paint with more olive oil, and return back to oven to cook for another 20 minutes, or until soft and supple.
- Sprinkle eggplant bouquet with fried rosemary and more sea salt to sprinkle.
Notes
Approvals
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