Fried Eggplant Pasta
History: This is an update to Breaded Eggplant (2002-11-02).
We update our breaded fried eggplant and serve it over a simple pasta with tomato sauce for a tasty vegetarian main course. Originally served as part of: Maybe Eggplant Isn't That Bad After All.
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- coarse salt
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup Japanese breadcrumbs (Panko)
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Pecorino romano, plus more for serving cheese (Locatelli) (freshly grated)
- ½ pound dried rigatoni pasta
- light olive, to fry oil
- 1 batch homemade 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.
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- coarse salt
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- black pepper
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup panko
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp Pecorino Romano (Locatelli) (freshly grated, plus more to serve)
- 1 batch quick tomato sauce
- ½ lb rigatoni
- light olive oil (for frying)
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Rinse, dry and peel most of the eggplant, and slice it into ¼- to ½-inch rounds. Stack them on a paper-towel-lined plate, salting each layer, cover with a paper towel and a plate as a weight, and let sit 30 minutes.
Set up three bowls: seasoned flour; the egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water; and the crumbs mixed with the herbs, pepper and cheese.
Put a large pot of water on for the pasta and make the tomato sauce (the microwave saves a pot).
Kid job
Pat each slice dry, wiping off extra salt. Coat in flour, then egg, then crumbs, and lay them in one layer on wax paper. Refrigerate until frying.
When the water boils, salt it and cook the rigatoni.
Grown-up
Coat a nonstick pan with oil and heat it. Fry a few slices at a time over medium heat a couple of minutes a side, until browned and cooked through. Drain on paper towels and salt lightly. Add oil as needed.
Drain the pasta and toss with a little hot sauce. Serve topped with the eggplant, more sauce and cheese.