> Fishie in tomato sause

> Swims in happy comatose...

> Only me, pathetic whim,

> Have no [word for the organic act] way to swim!..

Don't say that here.

There are words in the English language that are
considered impolite, especially ones that refer
to bodily functions. If you are not familiar with
these, please look them up and refrain from using
them here, as this is an all-ages echo. I encourage
you if necessary to do a Web search for "George
Carlin Seven Dirty Words" and take whatever lessons
you can from that.

One could substitute a firm flat fish for half
the aubergine in this recipe:

Parmigiana di Melanzane
Categories: Main, Italian, Scottish
Servings: 6

2 lg aubergines/eggplant (around 1 1/2 lbs)
1 1/2 lb chunky pureed tomatoes (passata)
1 white onion
1 sm bn basil
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
3/4 c parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 tb olive oil
flour for dusting
sunflower oil for frying
salt and pepper to season

Thinly slice the eggplant/aubergines then place them 
in a colander. Sprinkle them lightly with salt and 
set them aside for 1 hr.

Meanwhile, make the simple tomato sauce. Finely chop
onion and saute in a pan with the olive oil until 
translucent and soft but not browned. Add the passata
and the basil torn with your hands. Add a pinch of 
salt and pepper, stir then let it simmer gently for 
10 to 15 min. Set aside.

Rinse the eggplant slices under cold water and pat 
them dry with a kitchen towel or paper. Lightly dust 
them with flour, shaking off any excess then fry 
them in sunflower oil for a few seconds each side, 
drain on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

Spoon a small amount of tomato sauce into the bottom 
of a baking dish and spread it around, this will stop 
the eggplant from sticking. I used an 11x8" oval dish 
but a rectangle or square dish around the same size 
will work too e.g 10x8".

Next add one layer of eggplant to the dish followed 
by a sprinkling of parmesan, cubes of mozzarella, a 
sprinkling of pepper, and couple spoons of tomato 
sauce (save 1/3 of the sauce for the final layer). 
Continue with the next layer until you have one top 
layer left.

For the top layer, spoon over the remaining tomato 
sauce and top with parmesan and mozzarella. Cover 
loosely with foil and bake for 20 min, remove the 
foil, and bake for another 20 min until nice and 
golden and bubbling on top. Let it rest for 5 min 
before serving.

Emily Kemp, insidetherustickitchen.com