Melanzane Rotoli e Salsa di Pomodoro

     Italian melanzane rotoli is a nice appetizer or entree!  Pan fried egg dipped eggplant rotoli are much more refined than the grilled eggplant version of this recipe.
    
     Salsa di Pomodoro Recipe:  

     This recipe makes about 4 or 5 portions of sauce!

     Heat a pot over medium/medium low heat.

     Add about 5 to 6 ounces of olive oil.  (The olive oil proportion should be about 1/10 of the volume of the tomatoes.) 

     Add 8 cloves of finely chopped garlic.

     Add 1/2 cup of finely minced onion.

     Saute till the onions turn clear in color, but do not let the onions brown.

     Add 1 pinch of crushed dried red pepper.

     Add a 28 ounce can of good quality imported Italian crushed plum tomatoes.

     Place a 28 ounce can of imported whole Italian plum tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes that are packed in their own juices into a mixing bowl.  

     Hand squeeze and crush the tomatoes, till no big chunks remain.

     Add the hand squeezed tomatoes and juices to the pot.  

     Add 4 pinches of oregano.

     Add sea salt and ground black pepper.

     Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh basil.

     Add 2 tablespoons of minced Italian parsley.  

     Add 1 cup of Italian dry red wine.  

     Heat the sauce and stir, till it starts to gently boil.

     Reduce the temperature to low heat.

     Leave the pot uncovered.  (Never cover a pot of Italian tomato sauce with a lid, or the sauce will become stewed tomatoes!)  

     Slowly simmer the sauce and stir the sauce once every 5-7 minutes for 4 hours.  

     The sauce should be simmering gently and there should be very little bubbling on the surface.  Scrape the sides of the inside of the pot back into the sauce too.  That stuff is full of flavor!  

     After 4 hours, the flavors will meld and the tomato sauce will become a medium thin tomato sauce consistency.  The excess tomato juices should be reduced into the sauce at this point.  The olive oil should be well combined with the tomatoes, because the sauce was stirred often.

     Keep the sauce warm over very low heat or reheat the sauce to order.

     Note:  For a very smooth salsa di pomodoro, allow the sauce to cool, then run the sauce through a hand turned food mill into a container.  Some people like a smooth Italian tomato sauce! 

     
     Tre Formaggi:
     This recipe is enough for several melanzane rotoli!  Never add salt or pepper to tre formaggi or the delicate "sweet" flavor of the cheese will be lost! 
     Place 15 ounces of ricotta cheese in a mixing bowl.
     Add 3 ounces of finely grated parmesan cheese.
     Add 5 ounces of grated mozzarella cheese.
     Add 1 tablespoon of minced Italian parsley.
     Add 1 whisked egg.
     Mix the ingredients together.
     Chill the tre formaggi mixture in a refrigerator.
    
     Melanzane Rotoli e Salsa di Pomodoro Recipe:
     Peel a medium size eggplant.
     Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 3 thin equal size slices.  (The slices should be about 3/16" thick.)
     Place the eggplant slices across a tray.
     Sprinkle sea salt on both sides of each slice of eggplant.  (The salt will cause the eggplant to sweat.  This will take the bitterness out of the eggplant and keep it from turning grey)
     After 15 minutes, rinse each eggplant slice under cold water.
     Pat each eggplant slice dry with a towel.
     Place 2 eggs into a mixing bowl.
     Add 2 pinches of oregano.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1 tablespoon of water.
     Whisk the eggwash ingredients together.
     Heat some blended olive oil in a saute pan to 360º.  (Be sure that the oil is about 1/2" deep in the pan.)
     Dredge the eggplant slices in flour.
     Dredge the floured eggplant slices in the egg wash.
     Pan fry 2 to 3 slices of the eggwashed eggplant at a time in the hot blended olive oil.
     Flip each slice, so both sides cook to a golden color.
     Remove the eggplant from the hot oil.
     Place the fried eggplant slices on a wire screen roasting rack to drain off any excess oil.
     Place the fried eggplant slices on a cutting board.
     Place a couple of spoonfuls of the 3 cheese mixture on the wide end of each eggplant slice.
     Gently roll the eggplant rotoli up.
     Place a few small spoonfuls of the salsa di pomodoro on a baking pan.
     Place 3 eggplant rotoli on top of the sauce.
     Spoon some salsa pomodoro over and around the rotoli, but try not to let the sauce make contact with the cheese stuffing.
     Bake the rotoli in 350º oven, till the cheese stuffing becomes hot.  (About 8 minutes.)
     Remove the pan from the oven.
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated grated parmesan cheese over the rotoli.
     Sprinkle a little bit of grated mozzarella cheese over the rotoli.
     Return the rotoli to the 350º oven.
     Bake the rotoli, till the cheese becomes soft and melts.  (Do not brown the cheese!)
     Remove the rotoli pan from the oven.
     Use a spatula to place each rotoli on a plate.
     Spoon a little bit of the salsa pomodoro between the rotoli and around the rotoli on the plate.
    
     The eye appeal, the aroma and the taste of this 3 cheese stuffed eggplant rotoli is very appealing!  I have cooked thousands of orders of melanzane rotoli in Italian restaurants.  The deep red, glistening tomato sauce looks nice on a plate.  Yum!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna