Serves 6

Preparation Time Less than 10 mins

Cooking Time Over 2 hrs

Calorie/Fat Count Energy 250kcal Fat 21g

Ingredients
750g/1 1/2lb ripe plum tomatoes
5ml/1tsp picked fresh thyme leaves
7.5ml/1 1/2tsp sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
450g/1lb good quality Greek feta cheese
extra virgin oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 9.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthways and lay them cut-side up in a lightly-oiled shallow roasting tin.
3. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and roast them for 15 minutes.
4. Lower the oven temperature to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and roast for a further 1 1/2 hours until they have shrivelled to about half their original size and concentrated in flavour. Leave to cool.
5. Arrange 4-5 of the tomatoes and some of the feta on four plates and drizzle over some of the olive oil.
6. Sprinkle with a bit more sea salt and some coarsely black pepper

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1-1/4 cups white wine
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2  medium eggplants, thinly sliced into rounds
Vegetable oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preperation:

1. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Whisk wine into flour, beating until batter is smooth and the consistency of thin pancake batter, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 200°. Salt or freeze eggplant slices to lessen bitterness and remove excess moisture (see left) [see below]. Pour vegetable oil into a heavy skillet to a depth of 2". Heat oil to 375° or until it sizzles when you drop in a little batter. (If oil isn't hot enough, eggplant will absorb too much of it.)
3. Dip eggplant slices in batter, then drop into oil -- as many at a time as you can without crowding the pan. Fry until golden, cooking on both sides, then drain on paper towels. Keep fried slices warm in oven.
4. When all eggplant slices are cooked, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
To Salt or Not to Salt?
Salting sliced eggplant for half an hour or so leaches out some of the chemical called solanine, found in the eggplant's flesh. The procedure: Sprinkle salt (coarse salt is best because less is absorbed) onto one side of the sliced eggplant. Leave it for 30 minutes, then brush it off with a damp paper towel. There's also a saltless way of obtaining the same results: Slice eggplant, arrange slices on a plate, and put it in the freezer for about four hours. When the slices thaw, just press out a lot of the moisture with the palm of your hand. This releases most of the bitterness. Is either process really necessary? If you're frying or grilling, both of which tend to concentrate the eggplant's bitter character, then yes, we recommend it. In stews and purées, however, bitterness shouldn't be a problem.

serves 4 - 6

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