Crispy eggplant
makes a great appetizer or main course.
For many vegetarians and vegetable lovers, eggplant is a staple main dish. Eggplant is nutritionally dense, packed with fiber, B vitamins, and potassium. One of the biggest complaints among people who dislike eggplant, though, is its texture. Many eggplant recipes yield a mushy, spongy mass. Crispy eggplant is easy to prepare and can win over even the staunchest eggplant hater.
Instructions
1. Slice your eggplant into ¼-inch rounds. Sprinkle salt over the top of the eggplant and set in a colander over the sink for 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkling the eggplant with salt will help to remove bitter flavors as well as remove much of the excess water that normally makes eggplant soggy.
2. Create a batter. To do this, beat two eggs in a small bowl. Fill a second bowl with flour and a third with seasoned breadcrumbs. Dip the eggplant pieces first into the flour, then into the egg, and last into the breadcrumbs. Alternately, you can use a beer batter, which is a 1-to-1 ratio of beer to flour with spices added.
3. Rinse the eggplant rounds and pat each one dry with a paper towel.
4. Fill a skillet with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil looks shiny and just begins to bubble.
5. Dip the eggplant rounds into the batter, then carefully drop them into the oil. Cook until crispy and brown on both sides.
6. Remove from the pan and set on a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
Tags: Crispy eggplant, eggplant rounds
