Recipe for Eggplant De Villa Caletas

Eggplant de Villa Caletas

Sauce…

(3) 28oz cans of tomato sauce

(1) 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and their juice

(1) 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes in basil (chop these before adding to sauce)

(1) 16oz can of tomato paste

(1) Small jar of Prego spaghetti sauce

*Place all of these ingredients into a large pot on the stove or crock pot…if using a crock pot be sure that it can hold at least 7quarts or more…this recipe makes a lot of sauce

Season Sauce with…

Oregano

Ground Thyme

Parsley Flakes

Fennel Seed

Salt

Pepper

Dried Basil

Fresh Basil chopped

Mint Flakes

Garlic Powder

* I start with about 3 palm fulls of each (which may equate to about 3 tablspns) except for salt and pepper, which I just sprinkle in…as the sauce cooks I taste it and add more seasonings as necessary.

Sauté… (In olive oil, white wine and 1 cube of butter)

(2) Medium sweet onions (finely chopped)

(1) pckg of white button mushrooms

15-20 cloves of garlic minced

*once sautéed I add these ingredients to the sauce

Sauté…

(2) pckgs of ground turkey burger

in olive oil, season with Mrs. Dash and or Montreal Steak Seasoning or just use some of seasonings listed above for sauce…either way the goal is to brown and cook meat and flavor it before it goes into the sauce…when cooked through add to sauce

Also add 1 tblspn of baking soda to help cut the acidity and 4 tblspns of granulated sugar for added sweetness…also go over to the sauce and just add a bit of good olive oil over the top and another sprinkle of white wine and let those mingle in with the other ingredients.

Allow all ingredients to cook on medium heat for about 1-2 hours before checking on it and then seasoning it some more if necessary. Then cook on low heat for at least another 2 hours.

When sauce is finished leave some out for eggplant and or pasta and save the rest. You can either can it or freeze it. And then when you are in the mood for or need a good marinara sauce in the future you’ll have yours readily available. And you‘ll want it because it is soooo good!

Preparing the Eggplant…

Each eggplant feeds 2 people…I am going to talk about just one…but obviously if your dinner party has 4 people, you ll need 2 or for 6 people you ll need 3…etc.

Peel the skin off of the eggplant and cut it into almost paper-thin circular pieces.

Fry each piece individually in olive oil, until soft and a bit browned

Set aside

For Assembly…

Take out 2 ramekins…place sauce at bottom…then layer on slices of the eggplant…then sprinkle some parmesan cheese…then place one leaf of fresh basil…then a piece of provolone cheese…repeat this three times until you get to the top of the ramekin.

Bake both ramekins of Eggplant de Villa Caletas at 350 degrees for about 30 min or until the cheese on top is bubbling and a bit golden brown.

This dish is an elegant appetizer or delicious main course!

Bon Appetite!