April 11

Maybe Eggplant Isn't That Bad After All

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• Fried Eggplant Pasta [View Recipe]

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  Ingredients

  • 1 medium eggplant
  • salt
  • .33 cup flour
  • 1 large egg
  • black pepper
  • .5 cup breadcrumbs
  • .25 teaspoon basil
  • .25 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon cheese (freshly grated)
  • .5 pound pasta
  • oil
  • 1 batch tomato sauce

  Instructions

  We want to change the texture of the eggplant, so that it will not absorb as much oil. We rinse and pat dry the eggplant and then peel most of the skin off. We slice it into rounds between ¼ and ½ inch. Three of the slices are spread on a paper towel lined dinner plate and sprinkled with coarse salt. We flip them, then place more eggplant on top, sprinkling with salt as well. We continue until we have three stacks of a few salted eggplant rounds. The eggplant stacks are covered with a piece of paper towel and a plate. The plate will act as a weight and help to squeeze out the liquid from the eggplant.

  We set the eggplant aside for 30 minutes while we get the breading ready. We use "standard breading procedure" to coat. We get three bowls ready for the breading. In one bowl we put the flour and some salt and pepper. In another bowl we mix the egg with a tablespoon of water. In a third bowl we mix the bread crumbs with the basil, oregano, pepper, and Locatelli.

  We set a large pot of water on the stove to cook the pasta and begin heating it. We also make the homemade quick tomato sauce in the microwave instead of a pot to save the washing of the pot!

  We pat dry the eggplant, one slice at a time, wiping off any excess salt and placing it into the seasoned flour. The eggplant slice is then dipped in the egg wash, then coated with bread crumbs. We place the breaded slice on a wax-paper lined dinner plate as we continue with the rest of the eggplant. We keep the eggplant slices in a single layer.

  We set the breaded eggplant plate in the fridge until we are ready to fry.

  When the water for the pasta comes to a boil, we salt it and add the rigatoni. We cook according to the package directions. The tomato sauce is ready, it just needs a final heating when we are ready to eat.

  In a non-stick pan, we heat some of the olive oil, we want it to just coat the pan. When hot, we add some of the slices (not to crowd the pan) and pan-fry on medium heat, for a couple of minutes. We turn the slices over with tongs when they are nicely browned, and cook for another couple of minutes. When browned and cooked through, we drain on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt. We add a little more olive oil, and continue with the rest of the eggplant.

  When the pasta is al dente, we drain in a colander and toss with a little of the hot tomato sauce in a large bowl. We serve the pasta topped with the fried eggplant, additional tomato sauce, and Locatelli cheese.

• Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Green Peas