But, in return, it is the most delightful bake, with the courgettes stewed and softened in the liquor before being baked into a firm slice with tomato and two types of cheese.

Blotting the thin strips of courgette, blotting the already-drained mozzarella, and then, halfway through cooking, pulling the tin out of the oven and tilting it slightly to ladle away some of the excess liquid. Which is why this week’s recipe is an exercise in blotting and tilting.

The answer is: yes, they work! And, yes, they do release a large amount of liquid. Could they work? And could they work without pre-frying, or would they release a lot of water as they baked and set the whole thing afloat?

But I did have courgettes, and parmigiana is simply a layered, baked thing … which brings me to this week’s recipe. It was already hot, and the idea of going out again and then frying slice after slice of egged aubergine felt less than appealing. It was only when I’d got everything out the next morning – the plate of drained mozzarella, the parmesan, the tomatoes for the sauce and the basil – that I realised I had forgotten the principal ingredient: the bloody aubergine. So, after a rice ball and a potato croquette with a bit of cheese in the middle, I bought basil, tomatoes and mozzarella, which I pulled out of its plastic bag of cloudy liquid and put on a plate in the fridge, so it would drain overnight, ready for the next day. Which, of course, made me resent him and his parmigiana more. And now that hot days are here again, the resting is even better for vegetable dishes long out of the oven but far from cold, and their flavours are the better for it.įour o’clock, however, was too late, and I watched the last slice of parmigiana go home in an aluminium box with a man in a Guns N’ Roses cap with a guitar strapped to his back. Also, by mid-afternoon, the last of the vegetable dishes they do so well – the several-inches-deep aubergine parmigiana, the mashed potato cake, the flat green beans stewed in tomato, and little cubes of roast potato with rosemary – have been sitting a while, resting, soaking. And because there is less to choose from, which is great, because I am busy, hungry and don’t want to think the counter tells me. While the selection is best between midday and 2pm, I prefer going to the canteen-like Felice just under our flat at about 3.30pm, because, after the rush of lunch, even the chairs seem to sit back and sigh with relief.

Flat indian bread 4 letters