A Healthy Breaded Eggplant

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September 5, 11:48 AM

by Patricia DiGiacomo Eddy, Seattle Cook Local Examiner

 

 

Eggplant from Alvarez Farms

For this recipe, you can use just about any size and shape of eggplant. In fact, feel free to mix up the types for variety. I like to use a firm, medium sized eggplant most of the time, but if you're making this dish for a party, grab some of the long slender eggplants as well. Once cut, they become bite sized and are quite easy to pass around on a party platter. Unfortunately they do take a bit longer to prepare, due to their size.

When choosing an eggplant, you want to make sure the skin is tight. Eggplants only last a few days in the frigde, and then they will soften and the skin will pucker. The larger, rounder eggplants will be juicier, so you might need to salt the rounds first to remove some of the water.

That's a great looking eggplant!

Breaded Eggplant Appetizer

Serves 4-6

• 2-3 eggplants
• Oil of your choice
• Light mayo
• Wheat germ (or cracked Emmer)
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper

1. Start out by peeling the eggplant and cutting off the top stem.
2. Slice the eggplant into rounds, approximately 1/2-1 inch thick.
3. If the eggplant is very juicy, sprinkle the rounds with salt and letthem drain in a collander or on paper towels for 20 minutes.
4. Mix the wheat germ, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
5. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and brush the foil with oil.
6. Lay the rounds of eggplant side by side and brush the tops with oil.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and brush each round with some of the light mayo.
9. Top with the wheat germ, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
10. Bake until the eggplants are brown and a litlte crispy.
11. Serve plain or with the dip of your choice.

Almost ready for eating!

Patricia's Notes: This is a very healthy dish. You can get by with just the barest amount of mayo. It doesn't affect the taste, as my husband was extremely happy about, as he doesn't like mayo. It just serves to hold the wheat germ and parmesan cheese to the eggplant. You could easily take the baked eggplants and make Eggplant Parmesan with them. This is much healthier than frying the eggplant. The foil makes for a very easy cleanup. Don't feel you have to be as neat as I was in forming the eggplant and sprinkling on the wheat germ and Parmesan cheese. I've made this before where I just covered the entire pan with that mixture and it was equally as tasty. It just didn't make for quite as nice of a picture.

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