Ingredients

4 Medium Size ripe Tomatoes or 2 Cans Crushed Tomatoes, very well drained

3 Medium Eggplants

2-4 Tablespoons Salt for Draining

1 medium Onion, Chopped

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

4 Garlic Cloves, pressed

1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley

1/4 Cup Golden Raisins (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme

2 Bay Leaves, crumbled

1 Teaspoon Sugar

Juice of 1 Lemon

Directions

Step 1: Dice the tomatoes and drain them in a colander for at least 1 hour.  Discard juice.

Step 2: Choose long and nerrow eggplantts, if possible.  Cut off the stem and cut the plant in half, the long way.  Using a vegetable peeler, remove 3 long pieces of the peel, each about 1 inch wide the long way.  Move the peeler back and forth.  This will help moisture flow out of the eggplant.  Using a large metal spoon, scoop outa bit of the eggplant, leaving a boat that has very thick sides and bottom.  Reserve.

Step 3: Sprinkle the salt equally on each eggplant boats and set on a rack to drain, skin side up for 45-minutes.  In the meantime, prepare the filling.

Step 4: Heat a large frying pan and add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and garlic.  Saute for a moment and add the onions and chopped pulp from the eggplant.  Saute until the onions are transparent, but not discolored.  Remove from heat.  Place the onions, garlic, eggplant scraping tomatoes, parsley and raisin in a bowl and mix gently.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: Wipe the eggplant boats with  dry paper towels.  Fill each with an equal amount of the aboved filling and place them in an oven proof casserole just big enough to take them comfortably.  Mix the dressing together.  Pour 2-tablespoon of the mixture over each eggplant boat and pour the remaining liquid in the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer until the eggplants are quite soft, about 1-hour and 15-minutes. 

Step 6: Remove from heat and allow to cool with the lid on to room temperature.

Step 7: This is also a great appetizer, just dice into bit size pieces.