Old-fashioned Fried Eggplant

Sheryl

Aug 27

Fried Eggplant on plate

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that I seldom use. I'm often not quite sure how to prepare it, and will pass over it when selecting vegetables to purchase. But I recently saw a really basic Fried Eggplant recipe in a hundred-year-old cookbook and decided to give it a try. Slices of eggplant were breaded with bread crumbs, then fried. It turned out well. The Fried Eggplant slices were crispy and delicious.

Here's the original recipe:

Recipe for Fried Eggplant — Larkin Housewives' Cook Book (1923)

I dried the eggplant slices using paper towels. The recipe makes it sound like cloth towels would have been used a hundred years ago.

I breaded the eggplant slices with bread crumbs rather than dipping in flour. I made my own bread crumbs. Starting with 2 slices of bread, I used a blender to make fine bread crumbs. A food processor would also work, or purchased bread crumbs could be used.

The old recipe called for soaking the eggplant slices in salted water for several hours before cooking. I think that modern eggplants are less bitter than the eggplants of days gone by, so I'm not sure if soaking is needed, but I did it. I've seen other recipes that call for just sprinkling eggplant with salt, letting sit for awhile, and then drying with paper towels. That might be another option.

Here's the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Fried Eggplant

Servings: 4 - 6
Time: 20 minutes active prep time
Difficulty: moderate
Print

1 medium eggplant

2 tablespoons salt

water

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup fine bread crumbs

fat (lard, shortening, etc.) or oil

Peel eggplant, then slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. Put in a bowl and cover with water that contains the salt. Let sit for 2 - 4 hours, then drain, and dry the eggplant slices with paper towels.

Put the beaten egg in a shallow bowl, and put the bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip each eggplant slice in the egg, and then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat.

Heat 1/4 inch of fat or oil in a large frying pan. Carefully place the breaded eggplant slices in the pan in a single layer. Depending upon pan size, the slices may need to be cooked in several batches. Fry for approximately 3-5 minutes or until the bottom side of each slice is lightly browned, then gently turn and fry until the other side is browned. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com