Do you want to hear a story that will make you feel good about yourself?
This morning I walked out my front door and nearly stepped on a tarantula. He was dead. Or playing dead. But wait! It gets better.
I’ve never seen one before. As I sat next to him, I pondered his life. Are they poisonous? I don’t remember. I started doing a quick little internet search, as I worried about the Blog dogs traipsing their way around the low maintenance, sun scorched back yard.
He lay there, incapacitated. Does he have a family? Were they worried about him?
And then I found it. A tarantula hawk. Google it.
They hold him against his will. So duplicitous is the act, so corrupt, so vial and violent and vicious. Untamed. Restrained, as if tied with splintered, oxidized chains. Paralyzed.
Involuntary. Inappropriate. Incognito. Impervious in case and file – implicit, indiscriminate insanity.
This giant wasp-like critter is the queen executioner.
This is what happens: The hawk finds a spider and stuns it with its sting. It then drags the poor, live spider back to its lair and lays its eggs in spidy’s abdomen. As these eggs grow and spawn, they eat the spider from the inside out.
Got the heeby geebies? I feel itchy.
Good news is, they don’t really bother humans. Or dogs. I told you it was a feel good story.
I know, you are wondering, how in the world could I make this into a food blog post. Involuntary Eggplant Involtini should be innuendo enough.
Feeds you and your lair; Takes 2 hr (including eggplant sweating time)
Ingredients for Eggplant ‘Rolls’
- 2 large globe eggplants, thinly sliced longways (with each end removed), 6-8 slices per eggplant
- 12oz tub of full fat ricotta
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk mozzarella, shredded
- 1 handful parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 handful basil, roughly chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 cups All Day Marinara
- 2 scallions, diced
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped small
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- Olive oil, salt, pepper
Ingredients for Garlic Herb Oil
- 1 cup good Italian olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed but left whole
- 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 leaves fresh sage
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
Method
Lay out all slices of eggplant on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with the tbsp sugar and 2 tsp salt and allow them to sweat for an hour.
During this hour, heat your olive oil over med heat and add the rest of the herb oil ingredients. Cook this on medium low for 15-20 min stirring often and not allowing to boil or scald.
Allow this to cool slightly and then strain the oil of all the ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Pat eggplants dry.
Brush the eggplants with herb oil on 1 side.
Bake the eggplants in one layer for 20 min, flipping at the 10 min mark.
Remove them at this point and allow them to cool.
In a bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, parsley, basil, scallions, lemon zest, black pepper, sun dried tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Now we assemble these little rollatinis.
Place a dollop of filing (about 1 heaping tbsp) on one end of each eggplant slice and roll up.
In a large cast iron pan, spread out some of the marinara sauce (about 1/2 cup) and line up rolls on top. Brush the exposed eggplant tops with more of the garlic herb oil.
Drizzle on more marinara (if desired) and then top with mozzarella cheese.
Grease one side of a piece of foil and cover the eggplant pan tightly.
Turn down oven to 375F and bake for 30 min covered. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10-15 min.
Garnish with additional herbs and serve.
No spiders were harmed in the making of this delish dish.
Love eggplant? Me too. Try these super fun Eggplant and Halloumi Napoleons or my riff on Eggplant Parm with Tarragon, Black Garlic and Cabernet. MMM.
