recipe: fried eggplant

Right on schedule, I got the first eggplant of the summer out of my garden Sunday.

I made it into a simple dinner of fried eggplant, topped with mozzarella cheese and served over spaghetti.

Now, I once made eggplant parmesan from Tony's aunt's recipe, which she got from his grandpa. It was delicious, but it required an entire Sunday afternoon to prepare, from salting the eggplant to making the homemade tomato sauce. Alas, I had neither the time nor the patience for so much cooking yesterday, and I didn't want to turn on the oven. So I whipped out my frying pan and prepared the eggplant in the second-best-way I know how.

Fried Eggplant

• 1 eggplant
• Flour as needed
• 2 eggs
• Breadcrumbs as needed
• Olive oil
• 3 to 4 servings of spaghetti  
• Jar of pasta sauce

Boil water, and cook spaghetti according to package.

Meanwhile, prepare the eggplant. Peel it, and slice it 1/4-inch thick. 

Put flour in one bowl. Beat eggs in another bowl. Pour breadcrumbs in yet another bowl. 

Coat each eggplant slice in flour, dredge in egg, and coat with breadcrumbs. 

Heat oil in large frying pan. Fry eggplant over medium heat until golden brown. Flip. Fry until light golden, then top with cheese and cover pan. Eggplant should continue frying to golden brown as cheese melts. I cooked the eggplant in two batches. 

Drain spaghetti when al dente. Return noodles to pot, and add pasta sauce as desired. Return pot to burner, and heat until pasta sauce is warm. 

Transfer spaghetti to plates and top with eggplant. Serves 3 to 4.

<3

From the archives:

recipe: roasted asparagus