Oven Fried Eggplant

I’ve been away.  Bad food blogger.  But I’ve been finishing up my latest book, knocking out revisions and getting it ready to go out the door, and sadly, food blogging is what typically slides because I’m back to old favorites rather than creating new recipes.  But one of the things I did try was a new preparation for eggplant.

My husband’s grandmother makes the best fried eggplant.  Like, I could sit there and eat a plateful of nothing else.  But of course it’s not what you call GOOD for you.  I have a recipe for zucchini fries that I really love and I once tried adapting it to eggplant with soggy results.  Then I saw an episode of–I’m ashamed to say I don’t know what–on the Food Network where I found that you’re supposed to salt and press it for a while to get the excess moisture out.  Ah ha!  So I tried it again.  And this time, success!  I served it up with some marinara sauce as a marvelous appetizer.  Serves 2.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Japanese eggplant (you could certainly do this with regular eggplant, I just happen to prefer the Japanese) cut into medallions, a bit less than a quarter inch thick.
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1-1.5 cups breadcrumbs (if you’re doing the gluten free thing, use gluten free breadcrumbs…I made mine from this sandwich bread)
  • pinch paprika
  • pinch garlic powder
  • pinch salt
  • pinch pepper
  • 1/2 tsp parsley

Directions:

  1. Slice your eggplant and lay out on a cookie sheet.
  2. Sprinkle with salt and cover with another cookie sheet.  Press down with a couple of cans.
  3. Let it hang out for half an hour.
  4. Remove the cookie sheet and blot the excess moisture with paper towels.
  5. Flip the eggplant and repeat.
  6. Mix the breadcrumbs and all the spices until well combined.
  7. Once the eggplant is suitably dried out, dip it in the egg, then coat it in the breadcrumbs.
  8. Place on a wire rack over a cookie sheet.
  9. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Printable version.

One thought on “Oven Fried Eggplant

  1. Oh nummy! I’m always looking for new and yummy ways to try eggplant. It seems like it’s usually done the same ways, but this looks great! And thanks for the excess moisture tip! I always have that problem.

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