Teri's Eggplant Appetizer

Fried Eggplant

White Sauce

Basic Ragu

6 slices Mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

 White Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup, plus 2-3 tablespoons half and half or cream, heated **

fresh grated nutmeg

fresh grated white pepper

dash salt

Melt butter.  Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes over low heat- Do not brown!  Next whisk in warm half and half or cream and spices and cook over low heat stirring until thickened.  If this sauce gets too thick, just add a little milk to thin it. **You can use evaporated milk or low-fat milk if you prefer.

Eggplant

2 eggplants, medium in size

flour

light olive oil

Peel and slice eggplant into 1/4-inch slices.  Place eggplant on paper towels and sprinkle them with salt.  Place another layer of paper towels over the eggplant place a heavy pan or a cookie sheet with something heavy on top of it and let the eggplant sit for 30 minutes to draw out all the bitterness.  Then dust eggplant slices in flour and brown them in light olive oil for about 1 -1/2 minutes per side.  Place on cake racks or paper towels to drain.

 

Basic Tomato Ragu

1/2 small onion, minced

1 clove garlic, cut in half

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 -28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

fresh ground black pepper

1/4 fresh basil leaves, torn

In small saucepan heat olive oil and sauté onion until soft and clear. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, do not brown garlic!  Stir in tomatoes and pepper, simmer for 20 minutes.  Add basil and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Assembly

Butter 6 small oven-proof individual serving dishes or you can make this in a casserole dish.  In the bottom of each dish first spoon a layer of the white sauce, then next a layer of eggplant, using 3-4 slices, next spoon about 3 tablespoons Ragu over the eggplant.  Lastly, place the mozzarella cheese over the top and then some parmesan cheese.  Place in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.  You can make all the layers of this recipe ahead of time it is best when put together just before cooking.  You will have Ragu left over, save it to serve over pasta another day or freeze it! 

    **I served this as a first course for a dinner party or you can just serve this with a salad as a main course.