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Baked Eggplant
Wow - I love eggplant! There is nothing like a nice "meaty"
eggplant to make your mouth feel excited about a meal. I
never used to like eggplant unless my mother-in-law made it.
She has a way of slicing the eggplant just right, adding the
right amount of breadcrumbs and frying until a nice golden brown on
both sides. My mouth waters at the thought of it.
The problem is, it took quite a bit of oil to fry up one
eggplant. My taste buds like it, but my waistline didn't.
For years, I've tried all different ways to cook sliced
eggplant that would taste as good as Nana's without all the oil.
Well, I finally did it! It took a lot of patience
(to get the recipe right) and a little luck. Normally I don't
keep saltine crackers in the house, but after a mild case of the flu,
we had a sleeve or two left. Once I was feeling better, I
remembered my mom using crushed saltines in a variety of dishes and I
remembered my mother-in-law using mayonnaise and crushed corn flakes to
coat chicken breasts before baking. WOW! I just had
to give it a try!
And the best baked eggplant in the world was discovered!
Start with some nice fresh eggplant. When purchasing
eggplant, look for a shiny, dark skin free of most defects. You
will also want to make sure the top is nice and green as if it were
just fresh picked. If eggplant is on my menu, I will bend these
rules, but if I am just thinking about it while shopping - I never bend
the rules! Dark, shiny, firm, green top!
I always start with slicing off the top and bottom of the eggplant.
The top often has thorns - so be careful.
The top often has thorns - so be careful.
You can see, I don't take much off when preparing them. Why waste any part of a good eggplant!
I love my y-shaped peeler. It really works well on
eggplant - if its sharp. If you notice the peeler is dragging and
rubbing, rather than peeling, stop. Clean the peeler and begin
again. If that doesn't work, it may be time to invest in a new
peeler or it may be that the eggplant isn't as firm as you thought.
If you don't have a y-shaped peeler, a regular peeler
should work fine. Eggplants are fairly straight and long, like a
carrot, so the traditional peeler should work. I have tried doing
this with a knife, but I lose too much yummy eggplant that way.
A nicely peeled eggplant just waiting to be prepped.
Don't worry about the slight bit of green left behind.
You can eat the peel of an eggplant, so it won't hurt you. I peel the vegetable because of the texture.
My little ones aren't very fond of eggplant skin and it can often be a little tough.
You can eat the peel of an eggplant, so it won't hurt you. I peel the vegetable because of the texture.
My little ones aren't very fond of eggplant skin and it can often be a little tough.
Now it is time to slice the
eggplant. I normally slice it about 1/4 inch thick. You
don't need to get out a ruler, just make sure most slices are the same
thickness. You want to make sure each slice is fully cooked at
the same time. A very sharp knife helps with this step.
Sometimes recipes call for salting the eggplant and letting it
drain - supposedly this reduces the bitterness. I have NEVER done
this with an eggplant. I don't have the time and have never found
the taste anything other than delicious. I think the key is
learning how to properly select a fresh eggplant.
Now that the eggplant is
peeled and sliced, it's time to prepare the coating. I have tried
lots of ways to bake eggplant slices, and this is my favorite coating.
I happened to have some saltines left in the house after one of
us had a stomach bug, so I decided to try cracker crumbs instead of
bread crumbs! YEAH! It was delicious. I have done
this with any type of cracker and it works well.
Break up the crackers and
place in a chopper, food processor, blender or plastic bag. (When
I was a kid, we didn't have any fancy kitchen equipment, so we simply
placed crackers in a plastic bag and broke them and rolled them with a
rolling pin to make crumbs.)
Process the crackers until they are a medium-fine consistency. This is a matter of personal preference.
Place the crumbs in a bowl or on a plate.
Now that the eggplant
and crumbs are ready, break out the vegenaise or mayonaisse or
nayonaise or whatever you have at hand. Veganaise is our
favorite. We tried quite a few to get one we all agreed on.
Spread a very thin layer of vegenaise on each slice of eggplant. Start with vegenaise on one side.
Place the eggplant
slice, vegenaise side down, on the cracker crumbs.
Gently, add a thin layer of veganaise on the other side of the slice. If you try to do this while holding the slice, it can get pretty messy.
Gently, add a thin layer of veganaise on the other side of the slice. If you try to do this while holding the slice, it can get pretty messy.
Using your hands, or a spoon, sprinkle cracker crumbs on the freshly "veganaised" side.
After thoroughly coating
the slice of eggplant, place them on a cookie sheet. You can
place them with sides touching. I like to line my cookie sheet
with parchment paper to make clean-up easier. Once the cookie
sheet is full, place it in a preheated, 400 degree oven. (This is
a pretty forgiving dish, so if you have something else cooking at a
slightly higher or lower temperature, just adjust the cooking time.)
The slices need to cook for between 10 and 15 minutes per side.
Once done, remove the
slices and serve immediately. I like them plain, but my family
members will sometimes dip them in ketchup, marinara sauce or
ranch-style dressing. I also love them the next day, right out of
the fridge. I like to eat them with a large dollop of fresh
hummus on top, or they are a great topping for salads, too.
"Wisdom From the Kitchen" | Veg4Health.com Melbourne Florida
