I met Hemy when I lived in Israel 45 years ago, and she and I became lifelong friends. She taught me to cook some of the dishes that her mother taught her. Like most cooks in that part of the world, she could make eggplant dozens of different ways. Recently, an old, dear friend who lived with me for a time in Israel requested that I make Hemy's eggplant, which I had not made in some 30 years. I called Hemy up, and she reminded me how to make her dish. I consider this a five-ingredient dish, and it is so easy. You will use lots of olive oil, so have the bottle right by the stove top as you fry the eggplant. The recipe features crushed red pepper as the main seasoning, and you can adjust the amount of red pepper you use. Hemy taught me to make the eggplant "harif" or spicy. NB: I have come to prefer baking the eggplant slices in the oven, so have included these instructions as an alternative to frying on the stovetop.

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