Spiced Lamb and Eggplant Involtini with a Creamy Feta Topping and Garden Salad

All of the flavours of moussaka but in an easy mid-week meal. Flavourful, spiced lamb mince gets rolled up in roasted eggplant slices and topped with a creamy feta and sour cream topping.

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Prepare the spice mix (store in a glass jar in the pantry). 

Ingredients:

  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp cinnamon

Method: 

  1. In a small jar combine all of the spices. 

Roast the eggplant (store in an airtight container in the fridge).

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggplants (thinly sliced, lengthwise)
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan bake.

  2. Add the sliced eggplant across two baking trays, brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

  3. Pop in the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through, you want them to be cooked enough to roll but you don’t want them crispy.

  4. Allow to cool completely before popping it in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Make the salad dressing (store in a glass jar in the fridge). 

Ingredients:

  • 3​​ Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • ½ tsp coconut sugar
  • ½ cup parsley (finely chopped)
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Add all of the ingredients into a glass jar and shake well to combine.

Tips 

  • When roasting the eggplant slices you want them to be cooked enough so they can be rolled easily, but they shouldn’t be too crispy or they will crack and be hard to roll.
  • When you’re cooking the lamb mince, you want to get it nice and brown before adding the tinned tomatoes so it gets crispy and caramelised instead of stewing.

Shortcuts

  • If you are short on time, you can skip rolling the mince in eggplant and instead layer the mince and the eggplant like you would if you were making lasagna. Simply start with a layer of mince using 1/2 of the mixture, followed by a layer of eggplant (cover all the mince), repeat this then, top with the creamy topping.

Vegetables

  • Swap out the cos for baby spinach or rocket.
  • Swap out the parsley for coriander or mint.


Protein

  • For a vegetarian option, swap out the lamb mince for 1 tin of brown lentils (rinsed and drained) and add 1 zucchini (finely diced) when you cook the onion.
  • Swap out the lamb mince for beef mince.

Other

  • Swap out the feta for goat cheese.
Ingredients

Roasted eggplant

  • 3 eggplants (thinly sliced, lengthwise)
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Spiced lamb filling

  • 1 brown onion (finely diced)
  • 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
  • 500g lamb mince
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp pine nuts
  • 400g chopped tinned tomatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Topping 

  • 200g sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • Feta 150g (crumbled)

Salad

  • 120g, 1 bag baby cos
  • ⅓ cup kalamata olives
  • 3​​ Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • ½ tsp coconut sugar
  • ½ cup parsley (finely chopped)
  • Salt and pepper
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan bake.
  2. Add the sliced eggplant across two baking trays, brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Pop in the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through, you want them to be cooked enough to roll but you don’t want them crispy.
  4. While the eggplant is cooking you can prepare the lamb filling. Add the onion to a large pan with the garlic and some olive oil. Sauté for 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat until the onion has softened.
  5. Turn up the heat to high and add the lamb mince. Cook for 5 minutes until nicely browned and all of the liquid from the lamb has evaporated.
  6. Add the spices and pine nuts, and cook for another few minutes before adding the tinned tomatoes; season with salt and pepper.
  7. Turn down the heat and let this simmer away for another 5-7 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool while you prepare the topping.
  8. ‍To make the topping whisk together the egg and sour cream and then stir through the crumbled feta.
  9. Add about a small tablespoon of the lamb mixture to the widest part of the roasted eggplant slice and then roll, and then nestle into a baking dish. Repeat until you’ve used all the eggplant (If you are short on time, see tips for a quicker option).
  10.  If you have any lamb mince mixture leftover then scatter this on top of the eggplant rolls.
  11. Spoon the creamy topping over the eggplant rolls and pop in the oven to cook for 30 minutes until golden brown.
  12. While it’s in the oven you can prepare the salad. Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, coconut sugar, parsley and salt and pepper into a glass jar and shake well to combine.
  13. Add the baby cos and olives to a large salad bowl, pour over the dressing and toss well. Serve alongside the involtini.
Variations

Vegetables

  • Swap out the cos for baby spinach or rocket.
  • Swap out the parsley for coriander or mint.


Protein

  • For a vegetarian option, swap out the lamb mince for 1 tin of brown lentils (rinsed and drained) and add 1 zucchini (finely diced) when you cook the onion.
  • Swap out the lamb mince for beef mince.

Other

  • Swap out the feta for goat cheese.

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