Fried Eggplant Recipe

Last week I gave a friend an eggplant from our garden and it was clear she had no idea what to do with it. So I told her I’d write out a step-by-step recipe to set her up for success. She was grateful and I thought I’d pass it along to you, as well. We don’t fry all of our vegetables, I promise, but this method is simply the best. And, I will say that my kids both ate two eggplant rounds for lunch yesterday and LOVED them, which felt like a total win. Mostly this is just the only way I have found that makes
eggplant enjoyable for me!

So here’s the step by step:

1. Cut your eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds. Salt both sides to take as much moisture out as possible. Some let them sit for 30 minutes, but I’m hopeful lunch will be over in 30 minutes, so they only have as much “sweat time” as it takes me to set everything else up.

2. Take three wide and shallow bowls (the cereal bowls pictured above were annoying…should have been bigger), fill them with the ingredients listed above. Add some shakes of any sort of seasoning salt into the flour bowl and the bowl of bread crumbs.

3. Coat the bottom of your fry pan with vegetable oil, plus a little more. Heat oil.

4. Using a paper towel wipe down an eggplant round, taking out as much moisture as possible, and then using a fork coat the round on both sides in the a) flour b) egg and c) panko.

5. The oil needs to be hot enough to sizzle the eggplant, but not burn it. I’ve noticed my oil starts to dance a bit…I’ve heard that the end of a wooden spoon sends out bubbles if it’s ready. Usually I just try putting a bit of a prepared eggplant in and can tell if it’s going to fry or if the oil needs more time to heat up, or needs to cool down.

6. Repeat step 4 for all eggplant rounds and add to the skillet.

7. Check them and flip them when they look golden.

8. When they’re done they’ll be a bit softer, but mostly the color will tell you when they’re done. Place them on a plate on a paper towel.

9. Top with fresh mozzarella and Marinara Sauce. Some eat it over spaghetti
   (I don’t). And then eat your heart out. I love these so much!

Guest Contributor Becca Groves is a stay-at-home mom to two awesome kids, Ivar and Elsie. She and her husband, Rory, live on a hobby farm where they
keep bees, tap maple trees, have chickens and kittens and a garden. She blogs about her adventures in motherhood, marriage, and hobby farming at joyfullybecca.com.