Eggplant Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dice half an onion and mince 3 or 4 garlic cloves. Heat 1/4 cup McEvoy Ranch Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil on medium low heat, add onions and toss with a pinch of salt. Cook until translucent, make a space, and add a pinch of salt, sauté for twenty, thirty seconds don’t brown.

2. Stir garlic into onions, add three anchovies and let melt into onion mixture, one minute.

3. Make a space and add 1 1/2 T of tomato paste, sauté until lightly browned. Add 1 1/2 cups of red wine and reduce by half.

4. Add three cans of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes stir in and break up by hand or use a stick blender later. I prefer the hand squishing. Bring to a boil, turn off and add salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Add a couple tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano or thyme or both.
   Note: I use basil in the summer since I have it in the garden and oregano and thyme in other seasons since it’s always in the garden but you can buy fresh basil during the winter in California. Your choice.
   If using dry herbs add when you are sautéing the tomato paste.

5. Take 3-4 large globe eggplants. Make sure they are firm with few to no soft brown spots. Peel eggplants and cut them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch coins. Put parchment on a sheet pan and layer the eggplant in a single layer. The eggplant pieces can touch since they’ll shrink but shouldn’t be on top of each other. Put in a 425 oven for about 15 minutes on each side, you may have to flip them a couple times. You want the pieces browned on both sides but not dried out. Remove pieces on to a clean tray as they cook and continue to cook the rest if they need more time. Lightly salt the finished eggplant. You’ll have to do multiple batches or use two pans and switch racks with the two pans when you flip the eggplant.

6. Have a pound of grated fresh mozzarella cheese and a chunk of pecorino and a chunk of parmesan standing by.

7. Layer tomato sauce in the bottom of a casserole pan and then put a layer of eggplant in the pan. Cover eggplant with mozzarella and grate pecorino cheese on the mozzarella. More sauce, then more mozzarella, and more pecorino, continue until the pan is full, four or five layers. The last layer of eggplant should be covered with sauce, all of, if any, of the leftover mozzarella and a liberal grating of parmesan.

8. Cover with plastic wrap and foil and put eggplant in a 375 oven for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and gingerly remove the foil and then the plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will have steam under it so be cautious. You can easily be burned by the steam, perhaps cut the plastic off instead of doing it with your bare hands like a knucklehead, or me for instance.

9. Return to oven for another 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browned. You can also turn on your broiler for a couple minutes but don’t walk away from the oven while it’s under the broiler.

10. Note: I make the casserole a day before so the flavors meld overnight. It’s also time consuming so splitting the work over two days makes for a relaxing evening when you do cook the casserole.

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