Ingredients

* 3 eggplants
* 12 strips of ham, about 2 inches wide
* ½ pound (225g) of diced mozzarella
* 1 cup tomato sauce
* ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Olive oil

1) Cut the eggplants lengthwise in slices, but not too thin. Place the slices in a colander of pasta or other utensil with holes to condemn the liquid, add coarse salt and let stand for one hour, so they lose their bitterness.

2) Preheat oven to 375 °F; grease a baking sheet or pan with olive oil, place the eggplant, sprinkle pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil.

3) Take the eggplant to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, flip each strip and leave 10 minutes more, or until golden brown, they absolutely have to be roasted, but it is not necessary that they are fully cooked, as they will go back to the oven later once more. Leave the oven heated.

4) When done on each slice put a piece of ham, strips of mozzarella and roll carefully the eggplant strips around the ham and cheese; you shouldn’t need to use toothpicks to hold them in place.

5) Arrange all rolls on that baking sheet, cover with sauce, sprinkle some cheese over and bake for about 20 minutes.

These are best when served immediately... decorate with parsley

Buen provecho!