Why Eggplant Is the Answer to Your Next Great Dinner Party

Restaurants featuring cuisine from the Republic of Georgia are popping up all cross the U.S., winning diners over with their gooey, cheesy egg-filled bread loaves of khachapuri, decadent soup dumplings khinkali, and flaky lobiani. Want to dip your toes into the food of the Black Sea? We suggest whipping up a few of these fried eggplant roll-ups from Taste of Persia, a 2017 James Beard International Cookbook award nominee. The nuttier, lighter cousin of the Italian eggplant rollatini, these roll-ups, or badrigiani, are coated in a spiced walnut paste, pan-fried, and served slightly chilled for an elegant dinner-party appetizer packed with unusual flavors. Get the recipe.

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Learn more about the 2017 James Beard Awards.

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Maggie Borden is associate editor at the James Beard Foundation. Find her on Instagram and Twitter.