Oven-fried Eggplant

[Dina]

Try dipping the slices in egg then on Italian crumbs, bake until tender. Top with your favorite Italian red sauce and cheeses. Serve with a side of spaghetti or your favorite pasta.

[blissful]

Do you think if I made these, and froze them (I have too many right now), I could crisp them up in the oven again?

[QSis]

I doubt they will be very crisp, blissful - they aren't terribly crisp even when they are fresh out of the oven.

However, if you pan fry the thawed slices in a little oil, you may get a better crust to reheat.

Lee

[blissful]

thanks!

[pacanis]

Lee,
Do you do anything to the eggplant first?
I've been reading up on eggplant and it seems it needs soaked in milk or rubbed with salt to draw the bitterness out?

[BreezyCooking]

Thanks for the recipe link - I'll definitely be trying this one!!

I haven't pan-fried eggplant in God knows how many years. I don't care how hot your oil is (or isn't), what you've dipped your eggplant into, yadayadayada - it still soaks up oil like a friggin sponge.

I've been baking, broiling, or "oven-frying", my eggplant for any & all recipes for YEARS now. Works great, & the results are tasty, terrific, & healthy.

[QSis]

Pacanis, I've never really noticed bitter eggplants.

However, some say to slice it and salt it and let it drain in a colander for awhile, till it sweats. Then rinse off and pat dry each slice. I do that with some store-bought regular eggplants, more because I like the flavor of salt that's left behind than anything else.

I don't do anything with Japanese eggplants - either from the store or my garden. It's sweet enough the way it is.

Lee

[pacanis]

Thanks Lee.
I'll look to see if the kind they sell is Japanese. I want my first eggplant experience to be a good one.

[BreezyCooking]

Pacanis - you won't have to ask anyone; just look at the eggplants. The Asian varieties are long & slim. Italian types are the usual large oval/oblongs as well as small/baby oblong/globes. Thai types run small to tiny globes - tho you won't usually find these except in specialty markets.

And I (along with many others) haven't done the salting/rinsing/draining thing to eggplants in years. In fact, unless you're using outrageously old eggplants which you probably shouldn't be bothering with anyway, this is just a big waste of time. It really does absolutely nothing except mask any unpleasantness with salt, regardless of how well you rinse it.

Do yourself a favor & save time as well - buy (or pick from the market) fresh young eggplant to start with.

[pacanis]

Thanks Beezy. That will help if they aren't labeled.