IMBB #18: Fried Eggplant

Linda from At Our Table is hosting this month's IMBB and the theme is "Summer's Flying, Let's Get Frying!" Our garden produced a lovely little eggplant this past week and I decided that this event would be the perfect excuse to use it.

Peel the eggplant and cut it into rounds. Then sprinkle each side of each piece with coarse sea salt and arrange the rounds in layers with paper towels between them and a weight (like a heavy pot) on top of the stack to leach some of the moisture out. Leave about 30 min.

Meanwhile mix three bowls of ingredients. In the first put about half a cup of flour and season with salt and pepper. In the second mix an egg or two with a tablespoon of water. In the third mix half a cup of bread crumbs a teaspoon of dried basil, a teaspoon of dried oregano, and a teaspoon of parmesan.

Coat each piece of eggplant in the flour mix, then the egg mixture, then the bread crumb mixture. Lay on a piece of wax paper as you coat the other eggplant rounds.

In a large pan heat enough oil over low-moderate heat to coat the bottom of the pan with a bit of excess. Proceed to lay a few pieces of eggplant into the pan carefully, without letting them touch each other. Fry for a few minutes on each side, flipping and removing with tongs. Lay the fried pieces onto a paper towel to drain. Repeat with the remaining pieces.

Stack and top with tomato sauce (John made a delicous tomato sauce with tomatoes and hot peppers from our garden).