Involtini di Melanzane

There are plenty of reasons to visit Italy in early fall. The days are warm enough to walk around in open-toed shoes. The evenings carry a cool breeze and with it the aroma of smoke and grilled meat. Even though there are always tourists, there are fewer of them. La vendemmia ~ the grape harvest ~ is in full swing. On country roads, small trucks chug along, their beds brimming with sparkling grapes. The olive harvest is right around the corner, which means so is fresh olive oil. In the morning, the mountains are wrapped in mist, and in the afternoon the soft light turns slow and syrupy. At the farmers' markets, there's a marvelous collision of summer and fall colors: yellow peaches, pale green pears, dark green chicories, glossy red peppers, purple figs, purple grapes, shiny purple eggplant.

Let's stay with eggplant. Why? Because it starred in three of my favorite dishes from this recent trip, so it's been on my mind. During our Abruzzo tour, we took our guests to dinner at Li Caldora, a restaurant in Pacentro that is known for its way with vegetables. The standout was a platter of paper-thin rounds of eggplant that had been salted, then fried, almost like chips. Divine. Later in the week my friend Miriam, the matriarch at Fontefico Winery, treated us to her pillowy version of melanzane alla parmigiana, a perfect balance of thinly sliced and lightly fried eggplant (no bread crumbs), sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

After the tour, I spent a couple of days in Rome, during which I visited my friend Carla Tomasi, who gives cooking classes at Latteria Studio, in Trastevere. She kindly let me crash one of her classes and invited me to stay for lunch. On the menu: homemade tagliatelle all'Amatriciana (using Carla's home-cured guanciale), gnudi di spinaci, stuffed tomatoes, and involtini di melanzane ~ silky eggplant rolls filled with mozzarella and parimigiano and baked in fresh tomato sauce. (We also had an incredible deep-dish tiramisu for dessert, but that's a recipe for another day.)

The day after I got home I went to my local farmers' market and bought eggplant to make the involtini. I had brought back scamorza (slightly aged mozzarella) and semisoft pecorino from Abruzzo, so I added those to the stuffing mix. Some recipes for involtini call for frying the eggplant slices and topping the rolls with bread crumbs. But Carla bakes the eggplant ~ much easier and tidier ~ and she omits the bread crumbs. The result is lighter and, in my opinion, better.

By the way, if you are headed to Rome any time soon and are interested in classes, you should contact Carla. She is an excellent cook, baker, and teacher.

P.S. For fellow eggplant lovers, here are a few recipes from the archives:
Grilled Summer Vegetables alla Parmigiana
Pasticcio di Melanzane
Ciabotto Abruzzese
Eggplant 'Bruschetta'
Rice and Eggplant Timballo

INVOLTINI DI MELANZANE
Makes 4 main-course servings or 8 contorni

Ingredients
2 large eggplants (2 pounds total)
Sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces to 1 pound cheese:
3 to 4 ounces mozzarella
3 to 4 ounces scamorza (may substitute more mozzarella)
3 to 4 ounces semi-aged pecorino cheese (may substitute Asiago fresco or another good Italian melty cheese
3 to 4 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 to 2 cups Simple Tomato Sauce , heated (puree the tomatoes before cooking to obtain a smooth sauce)

Instructions
1. Remove the tops and bottoms from the eggplants. Cut them lengthwise into thin (1/4-inch) slices, discarding the two end slices. You should have 8 slices from each eggplant for a total of 16 slices.

2. Salt the eggplant slices on both sides and layer them on a paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet. Let them sit for 1 hour, then pat them dry.

3. Heat the oven to 400° F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Brush the eggplant slices on both sides with olive oil and arrange them in a single on the baking sheets (8 per sheet). Bake for 10 minutes; turn the slices over and bake for 10 minutes more, until they are tender and lightly browned. (You can bake them one sheet at a time, or both sheets at once, on racks placed in the top and center of the oven.) Let the slices cool while you prepare the filling. Reduce the oven heat to 375° F.

4. Cut the mozzarella and scamorza (if using) into small cubes. Shred the pecorino (or Asiago) on the large holes of a box grater. Combine the cheeses in a bowl and stir in the parmigiano.

5. Lightly coat an 8-inch by 11-inch rectangular baking dish with olive oil. Spoon about 1/3 cup of tomato sauce into the bottom of the dish. Place a spoonful of the cheese filling on the wide end of one of the eggplant slices. Roll it up and set it in the baking dish, seam side down. Stuff and roll up the remaining eggplant slices and place them in the dish, taking care to reserve about 1/2 cup of the filling. The involtini should fit snugly in the dish. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce on top of the involtini and top with the remaining cheese.

6. Bake the involtini, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is oozy and the top is browned in spots. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving, and serve hot or warm.