I have no shame in admitting I'm cheap. I hate to spend so much money on groceries. So I've been on the lookout for "re-usable" meals. I love eggplant and Trevor is so/so about it. Lucky for me, eggplant was on sale for $1 at Weis (the grocery store next to our apartment). It was huge and looked like I could get a lot of meals out of it, so I bought it! I decided to get all the eggplant made on Sunday since the rest of the week was really busy and I could eat quick sandwiches out of it! I really want to try non-fried eggplant meals but Trevor wasn't having that... yet ;) It was beautiful outside and completely felt like fall! We decided to eat these guys outside on our patio, it was a perfect combination!
Basic Fried Eggplant:
Eggplant
Panko Crumbs
Flour
Egg
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1) Slice the eggplant about an inch thick... a little thinner if you'd like but not too thick.
2) Pre-heat oven to 350 and begin heating oil on medium in a pan on the stove.
3) Take a strip of eggplant and dip it into a bowl of flour, coating everywhere.
4) Take the floured eggplant and dip it into a bowl of egg making sure to once again coat everywhere.
5) After the eggplant strip has been floured and egged, lay it on a plate of panko. I find it easier to lay it atop and then with a fork spread some on top instead of dipping it in to the panko. I don't know why but I always feel like the panko is the hardest to get covered everywhere.
6) Place the covered eggplant into the heated oil and let simmer for about minute or two on each side until brown.
7) Remove from pan and place on a cooking sheet and place in oven for 5 minutes so the oil can drain off. If you want to skip this step, make sure to put the eggplant on paper towel after removing from oil so at least some of the oil can dry off.
8) TA-DA enjoy!
ps. I dabbed some raspberry vinaigrette on my sandwich to make it delicious. It worked.
So for some reason it's not letting move my text to align right but we're just going to roll with it.
We ate eggplant sandwiches for a few days and then moved on to EGGPLANT PASTA!
This was scrumptious.
Eggplant Pasta:
Bowtie Pasta! (Or any of your choice)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of whole tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
Salt
Parsley
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Leftover Fried Eggplant
1) Heat a large pot of water with a teaspoon of salt.
2) Once the water begins boiling, add pasta.
3) Mix tomato paste, sauce and whole tomatoes into a skillet on medium heat. Let simmer, stirring frequently. Add the seasons to your liking.
4) Begin smashing the whole tomatoes once soft enough. After you've smashed all the tomatoes, mix in eggplant.
5) By that time, the pasta should be done boiling. Drain it and add it to the sauce.
6) Stir together on medium heat for about 4 minutes or so.
7) All done, enjoy!
I paid a dollar for that eggplant and it made six or seven meals. Not bad ;) Next time I want to try eggplant chips and stuffed eggplant. If you try these recipes, let me know what you thought!
-Nicole
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