Homemade Tomato Sauce and Eggplant Rollatini

I love having all the garden fresh vegetables in my kitchen to use in delicious homemade recipes.  The food always tastes so much better with organic, garden ripe vegetables.  I can actually FEEL the extra nutrients I'm consuming from my healthy garden produce.  The fun thing about growing my own veggies as well, is that I'm constantly trying out new recipes to use up all my fresh produce.

Most recently, I had an abundance of tomatoes and eggplant.  I had A LOT of tomatoes, so I decided to try my hand at making my very first batch of homemade tomato sauce.  With the eggplant, I made my favorite dish, eggplant rollatini - a dish I've made several times before, but always enjoy more with garden fresh eggplant.

EASY FRESH TOMATO BASIL SAUCE

I didn't have a lot of time available to go through the process of pealing the tomato skins off, so I opted for a simpler recipe that kept the tomato skins on.  I used the below recipe from here.  However, I ended up only using about 6 pounds of tomatoes.  I also added a few sprigs of oregano, from the garden.

Prep Time:  20 min
Cook Time:  2 hrs
Serves:  6

Ingredients
8 pounds tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

 Tomatoes - seeded and diced.  The juice and seeds was used in some veggie juices later on.

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, cook tomatoes and basil over medium-low heat until tomatoes are soft.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent.
3. Add onion mixture to tomato mixture and add salt and pepper.  Let simmer on low heat for 2 hours or until thick.

EGGPLANT ROLLATINI

This is my absolute favorite dish to eat.  It was made extra delicious by my garden fresh eggplant and homemade tomato sauce.  I got the recipe from here, and also posted below. I always make a double batch, so that I can eat it all throughout the week, and also have some to freeze for later, too.

Prep:  15 minutes
Cook:  30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup ricotta cheese

• 10 slices prosciutto
• 1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 pound angel hair pasta

Directions

1. Dip the eggplant slices in egg, then coat with bread crumbs. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant on each side until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese onto each slice of eggplant. Place a slice of prosciutto onto each one. Roll up tightly, and place seam side down in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over the rolls, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
5. While the eggplant rolls are baking, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the angel hair pasta, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender. Drain. Serve eggplant rolls and sauce over pasta.