Instead of making the lemon scaloppine, try this delightful dish from Lidia Bastianich, in which the vegetables almost take center stage and the meat is an accent. It is important in reducing this recipe to one serving to use a small pan so that the sauce does not evaporate.

Ingredients

　　Salt and freshly ground pepper

　　All-purpose flour for dredging

　　1–2 tablespoons light olive oil

　　3 ounces pork tenderloin

　　1 tablespoon butter

　　1 shallot, minced

　　A splash of white wine

　　About 6 fresh basil leaves

　　3–4 tablespoons tomato sauce or 2 teaspoons tomato paste diluted with 1/4 cup water

　　3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

　　1/2 cup veal, beef, or chicken stock, homemade or a substitute (see page 83)

　　Trim the stem off the eggplant. Slice a wide strip of skin off lengthwise on either side and discard, then slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices. Salt and pepper them, and dredge lightly in flour. (If you are using zucchini, cut it into diagonal 1/4-inch slices and dredge them.) Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 6-inch frying pan, and lightly brown the eggplant slices on both sides, adding a little more oil if necessary. Remove to paper towels. Cut scallop-sized pieces of pork (see procedure in preceding recipe), and flatten them between sheets of wax paper, then salt and pepper lightly and dredge in flour. Add the butter to the pan, and sauté the pork for a minute or two on each side. Remove from the pan, and set aside with the eggplant. Toss in the shallot, sauté briefly, then splash in the wine and let it almost boil away. Put the pieces of meat back in the skillet in one layer, with leaves of basil laid over them, then arrange the slices of eggplant on top, and spoon about 1 tablespoon of the tomato sauce over each piece. Sprinkle the cheese over it, and drizzle just a little tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan, along with the stock. Bake in a preheated 400° oven for 8–10 minutes, or until the meat is tender when poked and there is still a little sauce left in the pan.

　　The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.