Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
Eggplant Involtini 
Most eggplant involtini, sometimes called rollatini in the U.S., are often stuffed with ricotta, loaded with oil, and baked in tomato sauce topped with mozzarella and parmesan. Instead, this recipe is low-carbon, high fiber, and oil- and dairy-free. Every bit as elegant and delicious, these involtini are far kinder to the planet and to our arteries and waistlines.  I used eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash for the rolls, lathering the layers of a tasty lacinato-garlic purée. Filled with labneh (soft cheese made here with strained soy yogurt), they are topped with orange pepper sauce and baked over chunky red pepper-basil sauce. Eggplant involtini make a gorgeous starter or entrée. Serve with thin slices of 100% whole grain bread to mop up the tasty sauces. 
 
Prep 40 minutes to roast peppers and garlic plus 1 hour
Bake 30 minutes
Makes 9 to 11 involtini
 
2½ cups unsweetened soy yogurt or other low-fat, cultured plant-based yogurt, strained
4 large red peppers and 4 large orange peppers, cored, cut in quarters, and roasted
1 head garlic, roasted and peeled
2 medium red onions, cut in medium dice
Up to ¼ cup no-sodium vegetable broth to deglaze pan 
4 cloves raw garlic, minced
2 to 3 teaspoons aka (red) miso paste, or to taste
1 bunch lacinato kale, cut in a chiffonade (1/8-inch ribbons), steamed
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves and stems
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 to 2 tablespoons of shiro (mild white) miso paste, or to taste
1 large Italian eggplant, cut in 3/8-inch slices, lightly steamed
1 medium-large zucchini, cut in 1/8-inch slices, lightly steamed
1 medium-large yellow squash, cut in 1/8-inch slices, lightly steamed
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
Grinds of black pepper
Grinds of white pepper
½ cup whole wheat oil-free breadcrumbs
 
Hints
Commercial breadcrumbs tend to be oily and turn rancid, but it’s easy to make your own: Use stale bread or toast or bake a few pieces of 100% whole grain bread in a 300°F oven until they are very crisp. Cool, and use a food process to chop them into uniform-sized crumbs. Store any extra in the fridge.
The three sauces used in this recipe are each terrific in their own rights: Use them also on pastas, potatoes, beans, and steamed greens and vegetables.
 
To make labneh yogurt cheese strain the yogurt: Line a medium bowl with a 2-foot square of unbleached muslin, allowing the edges to drape outside the bowl. Spoon the yogurt over the muslin. Gather the corners of the muslin to create a bag. Tie the bag with a 2-foot length of string and hang it in a strainer placed over a bowl. Refrigerate it for 3 hours, during which it will ripen in flavor and thicken into a spreadable probiotic cheese with the consistency of cream cheese. 
Preheat a conventional oven to 375°F or a convection oven to 350°F.
To roast the quartered peppers, lay them on 2 or more cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper. Remove the loose papery skins of the garlic head and place it also on the sheet as well. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes or until the peppers begin to collapse and brown on their cut edges. Break off half the garlic head into cloves, peel, and reserve them for step 6. Use the rest of the roasted garlic for another dish.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Dry sauté the onions for a few minutes, stirring. They will release water and begin to caramelize and darken the pan. Deglaze the pan with just enough broth to scrape up the adhered sugars from the pan. Stir in the minced raw garlic and basil. Cook for 2 minutes and allow it to cool.
Place the roasted red peppers and half of the onion-garlic sauté in a food processor with ¼ cup of water. Run until you create a chunky, spreadable red sauce. Season to taste with a few grinds of black pepper and 2 to 3 teaspoons teaspoons of aka miso. Taste and correct the seasonings as you like.
Steam the kale until tender, about 10 minutes. Toss in a high-speed blender with the peeled roasted garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, shiro miso to taste, and a few grinds of black pepper. Add just enough of the steaming water to facilitate blending and run on high for a minute. The puréed green sauce should be smooth, dense, and spreadable. Taste to correct the seasonings as you prefer.
Using a mandolin, slice the eggplant lengthwise into 3/8-inch slices. Slice the zucchini and yellow squash into 1/8-inch slices. Steam them separately for 5 to 6 minutes, just until they become pliant and easy to roll up. Transfer immediately to plates and once cool, cover each with plastic wrap to stay moist.
To make the orange pepper sauce, transfer the roasted orange peppers to a high-speed blender.  Add the remaining sautéed onion-garlic mix. Add the soy milk, 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast, and a grind or two of white pepper, and 2 to 3 teaspoons of shiro miso. Run on high to purée into a smooth, rich orange pepper sauce. Taste and correct the seasonings as you like.
To compose the involtini, in a deep metallic or ceramic covered casserole spread a layer of the remaining chunky red pepper sauce. 
Place a steamed eggplant slab on a cutting board. Spread on a coat of green sauce. Lay one slice of zucchini and yellow squash on top of the sauced eggplant slice, side by side. If necessary, trim the squash to just cover the eggplant. Spread on another coat of green sauce. 
Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the soy labneh on the lower end of the eggplant-squash slabs and gently roll them up. Transfer the involtino atop the chunky red pepper sauce in the casserole. Repeat this process with the remaining slabs of eggplant, green sauce, squashes, and labneh.
Pour the orange pepper sauce liberally over only the involtini, leaving the circle of chunky pepper sauce in the center of the pan untouched.  Sprinkle the involtini with breadcrumbs. 
Cover the casserole and bake for 30 minutes. The involtini and sauces will swell in the pan, become fragrant, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.  Serve hot out of the oven on warm plates with slices of a good crusty 100% whole grain bread to sop up the sauces.