growing up i always gave my mom trouble when it was time to eat.  my poor mother, i was horrible! there we so many things i would not eat.  eggplant was one of things i would never eat.  try as she might, mom never could make me eat eggplant.  but there was one person who would… my aunt belkis - titi.  titi is such an amazing cook, the best cook in the family! hers was the only eggplant i would eat.  titi lives in new york now, which is great because she is a phone call or short train ride away.  i love it! i get to visit and get delicious dinners all the time. 

so when i was at the supermarket and saw some eggplant i called titi and asked for her cheesy eggplant recipe.  of course she obliged and here it is… titi’s cheesy eggplant!

INGREDIENTS:
2 medium eggplants
1 stalk of celery
1 green pepper
oregano
ground pepper
2 tbs of parsley
sofrito (optional)
vegeratble oil
tomato sauce
1/2 white onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup of mild cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:
peel and clean the eggplant.  take as much of the seeds as you can.  cut up into cubes.

eat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil.  add the eggplant and make sure it is all coated with oil.  season with pepper.  do not use salt because the cheese tends to be salty and that would be enough.  do not add water because the eggplant has plenty and excretes it once it cooks.

cover and cook on medium heat.  in the meantime, rough chop the parsley

and slice the garlic

continue with the onion, celery and pepper.

add the peppers, onions, celery, garlic and parsley to the eggplant.  mix well and cover. 

cook for about 5 minutes and then add some tomato sauce. about 3 tablespoons should do it. add sofrito if you have some, if you don’t that’s ok too.  sprinkle a teaspoon of dry oregano and mix well.

mix well and cook until the eggplant is tender.

if you feel it is a little dry add a little water.

once the eggplant is cooked (when you can easily stick a fork in it), add the cubed or shredded cheese. add the cheese bit by bit in order to avoid making the eggplant too salty.

mix everything well and once the cheese is all melty… yum! then it is ready to eat!

this eggplant can definitely be eaten on its own but i decided to served it over some white rice.

just delicious! the cheese adds the perfect amount of salt to the eggplant. 

the herbs add a nice flavor as well

i like eating this with white rice.  everything gets mixed together and there is cheesy deliciousness everywhere!

the irishman love it, we almost didn’t have any to take for lunch the next day. there were definitely seconds and maybe thirds. 

i hope you try it!

thanks so much for stopping by!