Sausage Eggplant Pasta Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 lb eggplant, cubed
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces hot italian sausage
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 celery rib, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 28 ounces whole tomatoes

Recipe

• 1 in a colander, toss the eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and let stand for 10 minutes.
• 2 pat dry with a paper towel and set aside.
• 3 remove the casings from the sausage.
• 4 in a large, shallow dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat.
• 5 brown the sausage, breaking up any large chunks.
• 6 with a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• 7 drain the fat from the pan.
• 8 heat the remaining oil in the same pan over medium heat.
• 9 cook the onion, celery, garlic, oregano, pepper, eggplant and remaining salt, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is very soft, about 15 minutes.
• 10 add the tomatoes, breaking up with a spoon.
• 11 return the sausage to the pan and bring to a boil.
• 12 reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 35 minutes.