Oven Fried Eggplant

Shew! What a week/weekend we had last week. Thank goodness that hurricane business is all over and we're back to the seasonal goodness of late summer! I thought I would hit you guys with a recipe for something there seems to be an abundance of: eggplant! This is a great "base"recipe from which you can put together many dishes.


Oven fried Eggplant 

1 medium eggplant
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup Panko

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, peel and slice your eggplant into medium-thick slices. Combine the panko and Italian bread crumbs on a plate.

 Dip the slices of eggplant in the beaten egg and then cover them with the bread crumb mixture. Make sure to coat on all sides. Lay them out on a baking sheet.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until browned, flipping half way through.

Serving suggestions: 

I like this recipe because it can be easily increased to accommodate more eggplant, and there are a variety of ways of serve it from here. It beats the “fat and calories” of the traditionally fried version. Plus, it’s easy as pie!

One great way to serve the slices is on a sandwich. A little bit of fresh tomato, mozzarella cheese, and basil and you’ve got a great sandwich (that is also vegetarian).

You can also make a great eggplant parmesan out of these by layering them with marinara sauce  and mozzarella cheese; bake that in the oven at 350 until the eggplant is warmed through and the cheese is melted and serve with pasta and sauce.

Or, serve them as a side dish with any of your favorite Italian dinners.

Manga!