Eggplant Rollatini a'la Giuseppe

Step 1: Cut the top stem and bottom of the off the eggplant and discard. Cut the eggplants lengthwise, into 1/4-inch thick slices. Note that the first and the last slice will contain a full side of skin, therefore cut off the skin, but leaving the skin on the outer rim. (You may also decide to completely remove all of the skin from both eggplants, but I personally like to keep the skin on the outer rims for some texture and color.)

Step 2: Cover a couple of cookie sheets with paper towels. Place the eggplant slices on the paper towels, salting each side with salt. Be careful not to over-salt so as not to have it be too salty. Let stand for an hour or so until the eggplants sweat. (the salting removes excess moisture and removes any bitterness from the eggplant). Wipe the beads of moisture off of each eggplant slice with clean paper towels.

Fresh Marinara Sauce

You may want to skin the tomatoes by following the below method in steps 3 & 4, but I personally don't mind leaving the skins on as I find it tasty, but if serving to important/highfalutin guests or if you have extra time, is when you may want to remove the skins.

Step 3: *Removing Skins off of Tomatoes*----Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then transfer them to a large bowl of ice water. (You may need to do this in 2 batches). Be careful to watch the tomatoes carefully while in the hot water, so as not to have your tomatoes cooked and mushy.

Step 4: Peel the skins off from the tomatoes. Cut off the cores and remove the seeds (if you prefer. I don't personally remove the seeds).

Step 5: Chop the tomatoes in 2-inch pieces.

Step 6: In a large skillet or pot, cook the onions in the olive oil over low heat until onions are just wilted and fragrant. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. The onions are not meant to be cooked down, rather cook until translucent and fragrant as mentioned above, and definitely don't brown the garlic.

Step 7: Add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt, black pepper. Cook to the preferred consistency. This should take about 20-30 minutes, more or less, depending on the juiciness of the tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add the basil at the end and stir just until wilted. Adding the basil at the end, helps the basil retain its vibrancy and actually taste like basil. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cheese Filling

Step 8: In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients; set aside.

Eggplant Coating and Cooking Process

Step 9: Place flour in a shallow bowl, such as a pie plate. Place eggs in a separate shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Step 10: Cover each side of the eggplant with flour. Then dip in eggs, then bread crumb mixture. Continue with each eggplant slices, placing it on a clean cookie sheet or tray, until all are covered with breadcrumbs.

Step 11: In a large skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil to 375-degrees F. Fry eggplant slices in batches until golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side. in between frying the eggplant batches, you will need to add more oil. Drain on paper towels.

Step 12: Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Prepare and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (like a Pyrex) with olive oil. Spoon about 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the Pyrex. Set aside.

Step 13: Spoon or spread about 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of the cheese filling over each eggplant slice. Carefully roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish, until all eggplant slices are complete. You may want to spoon the remaining sauce around and over the eggplant rolls, but I personally like to serve the Fresh Marinara after the eggplant rollatini's are cooked and plated, as I find that the sauce retains its flavor and the rollatini's also retained more of their crispness. However, if using a regular sauce, you may want to bake it with the eggplant, but it's all up to your personal taste.

Step 14: Sprinkle tops of the eggplant with the freshly grated parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Cover and bake until cheese is melted and rollatini's are hot and sauce bubbly (if adding sauce to the dish) for 30-35 minutes.

Step 15: Remove from oven, plate, and serve with the Fresh Marina Sauce (if you haven't already added it to the baking dish) and toss fresh basil leaves over the rollatini's or add the basil to each plate.