Eggplant can serve as an excellent substitute for meat for its nutritional value. That is probably one of the reasons this vegetable has been inevitable in all Mediterranean cuisines for centuries. Today, of course, eggplant is used in all meridians, but if you ask the spoiled inhabitants of the climate of the most beneficial part of our planet, recipes from the Mediterranean are still the most delicious. And the simplest.
The more you go to the south, the spices are stronger, but in almost all combinations, the eggplant is found in a love with the tomato. Such is Sicilian parmigiana, as well as Calabrian caponata. Although the most popular Bokelan eggplant dish is “priganija“ (prepared from several kinds of vegetables, including eggplant), we are coming to you with a dish which, unfortunately, cannot be ordered at any of the local restaurants. It's extremely simple, and you just can't stop eating it. In the local dialect, the dish is called "bolancane u toć' od pamidora" (eggplant in tomato sauce), and its preparation would take you about an hour.
The queen of our kitchen, salsa (tomato sauce) must be prepared before. You can make all mistakes, but do not even think about adding water in as part of its preparation. For the two kilograms of sewn and seeded tomatoes, you need about 600 grams of chopped onion, which, with the addition of salt and pepper and two teaspoons of sugar, is stewed on a soft fire in olive oil. When the onion is completely softened, add fresh tomatoes and a few tablespoons of tomato concentrate, and soften it in a low heat until it becomes a medium thickness. Garlic (2-3 limbs), parsley and basil are necessary.
The experience of enjoying the preparation of this dish says that 40 minutes is enough to prepare the sauce, and at the same time, you will need to prepare the eggplant. 5-6 medium-sized eggplants should be washed and dried, cut into slices of about 5 mm thick, and put on kitchen towels. Add salt to release bitterness. After ten minutes, the eggplants should be dried out of the juice which they release and fried on hot oil for a short time on both sides. To remove excess oil, use paper napkins, which make it a lot easier for cleaning the kitchen after preparing the dishes. Now you have everything you need. Place down the eggplant layer, coat it with a rich tomato sauce, and then reconcile the eggplant into a circle. The final layer should be tomato sauce.
Although it is difficult to resist, the dish is tastier when stored, completely cooled, and in the refrigerator for several hours. You can serve it with the cooked or fried fish, grilled meat, but also in combination with other vegetable dishes.
