Slow roasting tomatoes requires minimal effort yet yields great reward. By roasting sliced tomatoes at 250 degrees for around 2 hours with olive oil, salt, and pepper, the flavor concentrates 10 fold and you are left with slivers of robust, sweetly dense lobes that can contribute their delectableness to just about anything. In my case I used them in my Eggplant Napoleon. Originally, I had planned on making a rolantini, but time was not on my side so I came up with another way to utilize my ingredients in a more time-friendly fashion.
Eggplant Napoleon
Depending on the size of your eggplant, makes around 4 towers
- 1 eggplant sliced into ½ inch rounds
- 10 slow roasted tomatoes
- 1 ball of fresh part skim mozzarella-thinly sliced
- basil leaves-torn
- chili flakes
- olive oil
- salt
Slow roasted tomatoes
- 5 vine ripe roma tomatoes
- olive oil
- pinch of salt
- sprinkling of pepper
Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Cut tomatoes in half and rub with a little olive oil and dust with salt and pepper. Roast for 2-4 hours or until they resemble sundried tomatoes. Sometimes I add a little oregano or fennel to them while they roast. The tomatoes do not need to be used all at once and can keep refrigerated for a week.
Napoleon
Prepare a grill pan
Brush the eggplant rounds with olive oil and season with salt
Grill eggplant-about 4 minutes a side until grill marks appear and the flesh and skin are soft
To assemble:
Place one eggplant round as the base, 2-3 oven roasted tomatoes (depending on size), top with a slice of cheese, sprinkle some chili flakes over the cheese, follow with 2-3 more oven roasted tomatoes, basil, a grilled eggplant round, and top with a few leafs of basil.
That’s it! Supper simple and extremely flavorful, with a huge help from the tomatoes.
I have always been fond of eggplant. At times this member of the nightshade family can seem somewhat intimidating, and I am always surprised when the white crunchy flesh breaks down to a smooth moist consistency at a relatively quick pace. The purple hued orbs are bursting with phytonutrients. Eggplant contain phenolics, which are believed to have antioxidant benefits and may reduce cancer risk and improve memory. These nightshades also contain fiber, which helps satiate and lower cholesterol, and Vitamin C, which boosts the immune system and aids in the absorption of iron.
Eggplant is often seen in Western eyes as a long-time component of Italian cooking. Yet, eggplant is multifaceted, and I look forward to broadening my horizon and utilizing them in less conventional diversified dishes. For now I hope you enjoy my homage to a feisty petite emperor!
