1 medium eggplant
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons oil

Wash, peel and slice eggplant into 1/4-inch pieces. Spread slices out on racks or paper towels, then sprinkle with lemon juice and salt. Let stand 5-10 min then wipe off with paper towels. While eggplant is standing, mix flour, cornmeal, oregano, garlic powder and black pepper together in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Dredge eggplant slices in flour-cornmeal mix. Lay on cookie sheet spread with the oil. Oven-fry slices for 8-10 min on each side or until golden brown.

RICOTTA-STYLE FILLING:

1 1/2 pounds firm tofu
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried basil -or-
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

While the eggplant slices are baking, prepare the tofu filling. Process the tofu, lemon juice, basil, honey, salt and garlic in food processor to a fine grainy texture like ricotta cheese.

Cover bottom of 8x8" pan with 1/3 of the tomato sauce. Use half the oven fried eggplant slices to cover the bottom of the pan. Then spread the tofu filling over, reserving 1/2 cup for the top. Next, cover the tofu filling with the rest of the eggplant slices, and pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top. Arrange reserved tofu mix in small dollops over the top. Bake about 45 min or until dollops are slightly browned.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.