Grace Parisi has done it again. This recipe rocks! As usual I made a couple modifications, but it's really good. And I made the leftover suggestion - Minestrone soup - and it was excellent as well.
So, I don't know where she found her eggplant and zucchini, but I used baby ones for both, and the lengths were just not long enough to make good rolls. I did use a mandoline to cut the slices, and I can see how 1/8 inch thin slices are flexible enough to roll, but the shorter pieces I used just didn't want to stay together without help. So I folded the layers and made them round as much as possible, but used toothpicks to hold them together. This worked out very nicely. Additionally, I used potatoes instead of the bread to make it gluten free. I sliced the potatoes thinly and roasted them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes with some olive oil and then put them in the sauce in place of the bread. Finally, to maintain the bread texture, I added gluten free bread crumbs over the top.
Just a couple notes: After you cook the potatoes, turn on the broiler and roast the peppers for about 20 minutes while you are making the sauce. Turn them once at 10 minutes. After they are blackened all over put them in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let cool for 10 minutes. Then run them under cool water to de-seed and pull off the skins. Don't be super anal about removing the skin, but try to get most. Some small pieces always wants to stick.
I have no idea what a 2-1/2 quart shallow baking dish is, so I used a 9x13 ceramic baking dish plus a 9 inch pyrex pie dish to hold all the rolls.
ACTIVE: 1 HR
TOTAL TIME: 3 HRS
SERVINGS: 10
3 pounds beefsteak tomatoes, scored with an “X” on the bottoms
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
2 cups cubed country bread
2 1/2 pounds firm medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips
2 1/2 pounds small eggplant, preferably Japanese, cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips
3 roasted red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips
18 oil-packed anchovies, cut into thin strips
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 2-by- 1/2-inch sticks
In a medium pot of boiling water, blanch the tomatoes for 30 seconds; drain. Slip off the skins and halve the tomatoes crosswise. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, keeping the juices and seeds.
Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the garlic and crushed pepper and cook over moderate heat for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and juices and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, on a baking sheet, toss the bread with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toast for about 15 minutes, stirring once, until golden.
In 2 separate colanders, toss the zucchini and eggplant with 1 tablespoon of salt each and let drain for 15 minutes. Shake out the excess liquid and pat the slices dry.
Spoon the tomato sauce into a shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish and scatter the bread cubes on top. On a work surface, top each zucchini slice with a slice of eggplant; blot dry if necessary. Place a strip of roasted pepper and anchovy and a stick of mozzarella at one end of each stack and roll up. Stand the rolls in the baking dish and brush with oil.
Cover with parchment paper. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender and the ratatouille is bubbling; remove the parchment halfway through baking. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
