George Chiala Farms - George's Recipe of the Month.

George has had a love of all things culinary from a very young age, and throughout his career, has worked with renowned chefs and food technologists. He discovered his passion for cooking at the age of five after spending time in his grandmother's restaurant. From then on, under his mother's guidance (who is a talented cook of her own accord) George recalls cooking anything his mother would let him, starting out with scrambled eggs and hamburgers and quickly moving on to fine Italian and French dishes.

After many years of honing and perfecting his culinary craft, George still enjoys what he humbly considers: "complimenting my family culinary experience," by taking courses in regional cuisines pertaining to the vegetable ingredient products his family specializes in, namely: Asian, French, Mediterranean, Mexican and Tex Mex.

Because of George's extensive knowledge and passion for food, he is a great resource to customers in helping them find the right ingredients for their recipe needs. "I need to understand what's happening in the kitchen," he explained. "If my client has an unfavorable flavor note, I need to be able to assess the situation to understand why." That extra level of service and care undoubtedly stems from his love of food and his work alike, which fortunately for George, go hand and hand.

For Eggplant:

2 large eggplant, tops removed and sliced to 1/3 - 1/2 inch slices long ways, salted to taste
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup GC Farms’ extra virgin olive oil

For Filling:

2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

For Topping:

1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 - Pour olive oil in a shallow dish. Pour breadcrumbs in another shallow dish. Dredge eggplant through oil on each side lightly and then with the breadcrumbs. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.

2 - In a 400 degree oven, bake the eggplant on a lightly oiled sheet for 30 minutes. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, grated cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

3 - Take a slice of baked eggplant and add a heaping tablespoon full of the ricotta mix.

4 - Roll the eggplant and place the seam on the bottom. In a baking tray add 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to bottom and smooth it out. Place rolled eggplant in baking tray.

5 - Continue with the remaining eggplant until all are filled. Spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce over each rollatini. Sprinkle each rollatini with mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.