Eggplant in tomato sauce: (Melanzane a fungetiello) is a dish that nearly everyone eats in Naples. Its not particularly difficult to make and can be done a day or two ahead of time and still have that freshly prepared flavor.

Ingredients for four people:

Eggplant                                      4 pounds

Garlic                                          4 large cloves

Tomatoes (canned Italian plum)      28 ounces

Olive oil (extra virgin)                  1/2 cup

Frying oil (Wesson, etc.)                as needed (see instructions)

Basil (fresh or dried)                    3 or 4 leaves or 1 tablespoon

Wine (red, not sweet)                   1/2 cup for the recipe (a glass for

                                                 the cook)

Salt                                            to taste

How to do it:

Peel the eggplants (a standard vegetable paring (peeling) tool works fine).

Cut the eggplant into 3/4 inch cubes.

Completely submerge the eggplant in heavily salted water for an hour. (eggplant floats so find a way to keep it submerged)

After the hour is up, drain and rinse the eggplant really well and lay it on a kitchen towel to catch the dripping water.

Put enough frying oil in a large frying pan to have the oil two fingers deep.

Fry the eggplant over medium-high heat, a little at a time, until it is all a light to medium brown color. (As it cooks, eggplant absorbs a lot of oil then lets most of it go by the time its done. Eggplant needs to be very tender when cooked completely. You can put the cooked eggplant on absorbent paper after cooking. You may need to add more oil to the pan as you go. It depends on the quantity of eggplant.)

Now, the sauce. Pour the oil out of the frying pan and wipe it slightly with paper towels.

Add the olive oil to the pan.

Chop the garlic very coarsely and add it to the olive oil and fry over high heat until tender and light brown in color.

Add the tomatoes, basil and wine and cook for 10 minutes while stirring very often.

After the ten minutes are up, add the fried eggplant.

Stir and cook for another 20 minutes stirring frequently.

Salt to taste about five minutes before removing from the pan.

Serve hot along side your favorite "second".