Eggplant Rollatini with Smoky Mozzarella and Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Fragrant, flavourful and fabulous!

This is what I refer to as Nouveau Canadiana Cuisine. This is what I call Canadian-Italian food influenced by many trips to Italy. This is the kind of meal I am delighted to serve my family at the end of a busy day where I use preserves from my kitchen pantry. Fragrant. Fresh. Flavourful. Nutritious, delicious and economical. And the broth? Oh, my. Crusty bread soppin’ golden goodness. Take a closer look.

Roasting vegetables low and slow intensifies flavour, translates texture into flesh that is meaty and substantial, and results in an offering that is richly umami in taste and deeply satisfying. My uber carnivore husband enjoyed this dish as a main. Very rare for him. And I was tickled to use two of my standard pantry preserves in the meal preparation. Preserving is fundamental to Canadian cuisine, yet menu planning to ensure use of what is preserved is not so easy as it is no longer the necessity it once was.In 1993, teaching middle school, a single mom of two young middle school daughters, I was approached to manage and co-own a new local restaurant in town. I researched the business. Developed a plan with a niche target. Had the space painted and designed. Worked on the budget. Hired a chef. Worked on the menu. One of the dishes was inspired by a gift from one of my students: a recipe book from her recent travels to the Mediterranean where the eggplant rollatini stuffed with smoky mozzarella spilling over the page. I knew the beauty of a grilled eggplant, but had never heard of smoked mozzarella. The business deal didn’t reach fruition. I refused to be co-owner. The learning experience was invaluable. Twenty years later, I have smoked mozzarella and eggplant in my fridge, and it is time to think about making dinner. Ah-ha!Preserved food is a staple in my kitchen pantry. I have a very small urban garden that produces enough tomatoes for our family for the entire year. I make the best homemade tomato sauce and freeze enough for six months in ziplock bags, and in 1/2 cup containers. I oven roast tomatoes low and slow and freeze them for various uses throughout the year. A small container of the tomato sauce was brushed over the bottom of the dish and drizzled with olive oil. The eggplant was prepared and then oven roasted and rolled around the cheese. Oven roasted tomatoes were layered over the rolls and all was heated in the oven until bubbly. That simple and that complex.I found the old recipe I had saved from the restaurant menu. It was similar: grilled eggplant slices rolled around cheese swaddled in tomato sauce topped with shredded cheese.Simple because I had my preserves at-the-ready: delicious, nutritious, flavour-packed and economical. Complicated? If you don’t.

The fresh basil from my garden is a luxury I appreciate. I have not mastered growing it indoors over the winter. The small amount of homemade tomato sauce coupled with the depth of flavour in the roasted tomatoes nestled into the smokiness of the eggplant and cheese, and elicited that “wow” I was hoping for at first bite.

Putting this dish together affirmed the importance of preserving my own food. It made planning this meal effortless, yet the impact was impressive. This is why Canadians with experience preserving continue to preserve. It makes sense in every way.

 I had not thought of that “almost manager-owner” restaurant situation in twenty years. There are such revealing stories behind many of the plates we place on our tables each evening.