Comfort food is defined by what makes you comfortable. ( FEEL GOOD! SOUL HEALING!) It could be at midnight with a quart of ice cream; after an argument with your significant other,…. could be a hamburger and fries when your boss yells at you for no reason….. (at least in your opinion). Sometimes its because you don’t fit in the bathing suit that fit you perfectly last summer, now you are exasperated and you just want a delicious soul healing dinner. I’ve got your back. Here it is:

The story begins with these beauties. As you know I am often seduced by produce. I absolutely cannot resist a beautiful vegetable and bring it home with me and then figure out how to use it.I decided to make a Eggplant Rollatini with a fresh tomato sauce. I bought beautiful plum tomatoes and garlic and Basil and got to work.I started by blanching the tomatoes so I could remove the skin. I put a cross  on the top of the tomato and cut off the stem area before dropping into boiling water. I left them in there for a minute or so and then removed and peeled off the skin when cool.These tomatoes will become the basis of my simple fresh sauce.I now turned my attention to these gorgeous eggplants. After washing, I used a Mandoline to thinly slice.Then I grilled, with a little olive oil, on my grill pan, giving them nice crosshatch marks.I used a stick blender to mash the tomatoes added basil and salt and pepper and some olive oil.I decided to add a can of Cherry tomatoes to add a little sweetness.Basil, salt and pepper and garlic….Simple. Let cook down on low for an hour to develop the depth of flavor.  Filling for the Eggplant Rollatini is Ricotta cheese with chunks of Mozzarella some Basil and salt and pepper.I drained the Ricotta to get rid of excess water.I added the cheese mixture to each of the slices and rolled up.Then I added some Mozzarella and Parmesan on top and some Basil prior to baking.I baked for 30 minutes at 350 t0 heat and melt cheese.