2 medium strips bacon
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 peeled tomatoes
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1 tsp. dried sweet basil, crushed
1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
1/8 freshly ground black pepper
In a large dutch oven fry the bacon, drain on paper towel. Add the onion and garlic and sauté 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, pressing them down into the dutch oven so that they will yield a little juice. Add the other ingredients. Cover tightly and cook until the eggplant is tender and most of the moister has converted into sauce, about 25 minutes. Crumble bacon over the top. Serve hot with home made crusty Italian bread.