With a rainy day like today, our afternoon/evening plans include picking a hilarious movie to watch, lounging around in our sweatpants and making a perfectly snackable dish to enjoy with friends and family. And this recipe is the perfect choice. We’re putting a fun twist on an Italian classic – eggplant parmigiana, bite-sized! These are perfect for just about any occasion. Bring them to your next family get together, party, sports event, movie night, etc.
Our star ingredient here is, well, eggplant – obviously. So we have some fascinating facts about eggplant that you might not have known before:
- Eggplants aren’t REALLY vegetables, they’re berries.
- An eggplant is almost 95 percent water.
- The word “eggplant” that we use in North America comes from British-colonized India, where at the time, a small, white, egg-like variety of the vegetable was all the rage.
- Eggplant has short vegetative season. Harvest usually takes place 60 days after planting. Eggplant requires high temperature (it grows during the summer) for proper growth and development. This is all the more reason to enjoy eggplant NOW before it goes out of season!
- Eggplant is rich source of dietary fibers, vitamins C, K and vitamins of the B group, and minerals such as copper, phosphorus and magnesium.
We will have this dish on repeat this weekend as we relax and stay in. We hope you enjoy it too!
Ingredients
1 eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups vegetable or peanut oil, for frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
1 cup marinara sauce, for dipping
Instructions
- In a small pot, heat 3 inches of oil until it reads 350°F on a thermometer. Line a large plate with several layers of paper towels.
- Prepare three shallow bowls. In the first, whisk the flour with salt, pepper and cayenne. In the second, whisk your eggs. In the third, mix the bread crumbs with the parmesan cheese.
- Working in batches, dip the eggplant pieces first into the flour mixture, then into the egg and then into the bread crumbs. Continue until all the eggplant pieces are coated.
- Fry the eggplant pieces until they’re golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove them from the oil and transfer to the prepared plate. Drain on the paper towels.
- Garnish with parsley and coarse salt (optional), and serve immediately with a side of warm marinara sauce for dipping.
Recipe via Pure Wow
