Pickled eggplant rolls (eggplant rollmops)

Too much time has gone by since my last recipe. I must say that July was really eventful in my life and unfortunately not in a good way. I was hospitalized and had an emergency appendix removal surgery. I guess I don't have to mention that being in a hospital in the middle of July and for a week after the surgery wasn't really pleasant. So if you still have your appendix and your tummy aches for the whole day and in the end it hurts in the bottom right corner of your belly when you lift your right knee up, then call an ambulance or go straight to the hospital! But now I am feeling much better and it is great to be back in the action and create new recipes. I also cannot wait for my new Estonian vegan dessert cookbook coming out in August! Meanwhile you can pre-order my new English cookbook coming out October 28-th:

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Dinner-Party-Comforting-Occasion/dp/1629145246

But until then, I offer you a great new savory snack recipe. Before I went vegan, I was a huge fan of rollmops a.k.a pickled herring rolls. This hearty little roll on a fresh rye bread was a really nice snack. I have noticed that in the vegan world, eggplant is the new fish. So I decided to veganize my old favorite. I was actually blown away when I tasted this little juicy roll on a bread after it had been in the fridge for a night. The roll had gotten really tight and the marinade had worked miracles. It was so identical to my old favorite. So if you have the same weird cravings like I do or just want to use eggplant in a new funky way, then give this delicious recipe a try!

serves four people

Eggplant rolls:

• eggplant (leaner would be the best)
• one pickled cucumber

Marinade:

• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• grated lemon zest of half a lemon
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
• 4 Tbsp mild mustard
• little bunch of fresh dill
• ½ cup / 100 ml oil (sunflower, olive or flax oil for example)
• ¼ cups / 50 ml water
• (½ Tbsp sugar or agave)

Wash the eggplant. Cut it lengthwise into thin slices. Then cut the slices into three long strips. Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Put the eggplant strips into the boiling water, cover the pot with a lid and boil the strips for 5 minutes. Then carefully drain the boiled strips and rinse with a little bit of cold water.

Make the marinade: whisk all the ingredients together. Taste and add some sugar or agave if needed. Also chop the cucumber into smaller cubes. Start preparing the eggplant rolls. Take one boiled strip and put a cucumber cube on the bottom of the strip. Roll until you have a nice little eggplant roll with a cucumber in the middle. Put all the prepared rolls into a little box or bread pan like I did. Pour the marinade over the rolls and put the rolls into the fridge for the night. Serve with fresh bread or with boiled potatoes.