Polenta, aubergine and courgette layer

Am having stupendous fun with the new grill pan I got for Father's Day. This lunch I made yesterday was all about the grill pan - it took a while, but as long as you've got something good on the radio and no critically urgent deadline, it's quite nice to have a slow food lunch.

Ingredients:

1 litre boiling water
Sea salt
2-3 cups polenta flour
1 large aubergine, sliced lengthways
1 large courgette, sliced lengthways
4-5 stems wet garlic or spring onions, sliced
Olive oil
Black pepper

Method:

First of all make the polenta. You can of course buy polenta ready made but it is easy to do yourself and you can make tonnes and tonnes of it for a fraction of the price. Start off by bringing the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly start to add the polenta flour in, as a steady trickle, while you stir. Keep adding the flour, and stirring, until the mixture is a bit like mashed potatoes. Try and keep this going for around 20 minutes or so, as the longer you cook the mixture for at this stage, the smoother the consistency of the final polenta. When you're done with this stage, smooth the mixture into a greased baking pan or loaf tin and put in the fridge to cool and set for around half an hour.

Like I said, this isn't a speedy recipe, so the next slow food action is to prepare the aubergine. Rub a little sea salt into one side of each of the slices, then stack the slices on top of each other, on a plate, in two stacks. Place another plate on top and then pop a couple of tins on top as a weight. Leave for 15 minutes or so to let the bitterness and some of the moisture out. Then drain.

Get the grill plan ready and then start grilling, starting with the courgette. Brush both sides with olive oil and a little sea salt and then grill until tender, with a few of the garlic/spring onion slices in the pan to give a bit more depth. Add a little fresh pepper if you like. Keep the courgette warm in the oven while you do the aubergine, again brushing with oil before grilling.

Finally get the polenta out of the fridge. Tip out onto a chopping board and slice into 1cm thick slices at a similar size to the aubergine and courgette slices. Grill in the grill plan for a good 6 or 7 minutes on each side. When you're done, stack up the polenta, aubergine and courgette into a gorgeous-looking tower and serve.