A serious fried food craving overtook us, so we succumbed. Our dinner of vegetables couldn’t have been much less healthful!

Slice

2 large eggplant (or a meaty squash such as zucchini)

into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Add in layers to a colander; sprinkle each layer of rounds liberally with

kosher salt.

Allow salt to pull out water for at least 30 minutes. Shake excess water off of eggplants. Dredge in

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

And allow dredge to set for 10-20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat

2 cups peanut oil

to 375 degrees F in a cast iron skillet. Prepare coating by blending

1 cup coarsely ground whole wheat bread crumbs
3 T finely minced parsley
1 t granulated garlic (use powder only if granulated is unavailable)
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

Toss ingredients to combine. Prepare each round by dipping in

2 eggs, beaten until slightly light in color

then dipping in bread crumb mixture. Working in batches, add rounds to hot oil. Flip after 90 seconds. Check color after an additional 2 minutes; if golden brown, pull from oil and allow to drain. Tilt rounds against each other so oil can drain well from top surface. Serve immediately with marinara for dipping.

Salting the rounds is imperative; without salting and shaking off the water, eggplant and squash are so high in moisture that they can become soggy when fried. I use an immersible thermometer to constantly read temperature. My draining rack (barely visible in the right side of the picture) is a cooling rack over yesterday’s WSJ.

The coarse bread crumbs give a nice nutty crunch. As I ate, I thought that two large rounds with a piece of cheddar would make a nice veggie burger on a bun, ready for ketchup and mustard and other summer condiments.

Prep time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 90 minutes
Taste: [rate3.5]
Ease: [rate 4]