Aubergine and Blue Cheese Salad

Does this seem like an odd combination?  Well, I promise you, once you taste it you will be convinced.  The piping hot aubergine melts the cheese into the salad leaves, creating a deliciously creamy dressing and the tang of the lemon seems to lift all the individual flavours, giving your taste buds a glorious hit with every mouthful.

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 aubergine
2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
2 handfuls of spinach leaves (or any other salad leaves you wish)
50 grams of blue cheese (I use stilton but any will do)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan.

Slice the aubergine into discs about 5cm wide.

Put the flour onto a plate.

Dip both sides of the aubergine slices in the flour and add them to the hot oil.

Turn once brown on one side (about 5 minutes) and add the other 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan.  Cook for a further 5 minutes and then remove the pan from the heat but leave the aubergines in the hot pan for a couple more minutes to soak up any last dregs of oil.

Arrange your choice of salad leaves on your choice of plate and scatter with the crumbled blue cheese.

Place the hot aubergine slices on top and then cover with the zest and juice of 1 lemon (or less, depending to your taste) and salt to suit your taste too.