Fried Eggplant
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel and slice the eggplant into ½-inch thick slices.
Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on each slice and press down for 1 hour.
Rinse the slices in clear water and dry them well with a towel.
Fry
Dredge the slices in cracker crumbs.
Fry in hot lard until golden brown.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Eggplant
- Its soft, spongy flesh cooks through while the outside turns crisp.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden coating that seals the slices during frying.
- Lard
- Conducts heat to brown the coating and crisp the crust as it fries.
The step that matters
Drying the slices well before frying. Surface water turns to steam in hot fat, causing spattering and a soggy coating instead of a crisp, golden crust. Thorough drying lets the crumbs adhere and brown evenly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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