Grilled, steamed, braised, roasted – there are a million ways to cook eggplants. But this is not your typical way! Oven-fried eggplant is definitely an approach to cooking them you see every day.
First, you halve and cut the eggplant into slices without removing the stem. This allows you to keep the original form of the vegetable, while still being able to make it crispy all over. Then, you coat it with Panko breadcrumbs and parmesan, and finally, you slowly fry it in the oven to make it soft on the inside and super crunchy on the outside.
Eggplant and tomatoes are a perfect match. If you’ve ever tried Parmigiana Di Melanzane, a classic Italian dish, also known as Eggplant Lasagna, you know what I mean. For this recipe, I wanted to incorporate similar flavors – eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, parmesan, and basil, but make it a bit more of a special, modern treat! This one looks quite fancy, while still being super easy to make. The oven does most of the work for you.
I like the combination of textures, so when it comes to the tomatoes, I used a mix of cherry tomatoes, that are not incorporated into the sauce, and regular tomatoes, that are cooked in the sauce and served very soft. The cherry tomatoes give the entire platter some freshness.
If you like to serve popular vegetables, with a bit of a special twist, this oven-fried eggplant recipe is the one for you. Enjoy!
OVEN-FRIED EGGPLANT WITH TOMATO SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
Oven-Fried Eggplant
- 2 eggplants
- 1 tsp salt
Breading
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tbsp of milk
- 0.5 tsp salt
- A hint of black pepper
- 50 g dried Panko breadcrumbs
- 20 g Parmesan
- 5 tbsp olive oil plus extra to brush on the parchment paper
Tomato Sauce
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- 4 to matoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 red onions finely chopped
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- A hint of black pepper
- 3 tbsp basil finely chopped
To Serve
- 2 buffalo mozzarella or Fior di latte
- 2 tbsp basil finely chopped
- A little olive oil
- A little sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Oven-Fried Eggplant
- Halve the eggplants lengthwise, including the steam. Then, cut the halves into 0.5 cm thick strips, without cutting through the stem so that the strips hold together. Rub salt all over the eggplant and set it aside for 30 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water.
Breading
- Line the baking tray with parchment paper and brush it with olive oil.
- In a small bowl, mix the egg, milk, salt and pepper, and then transfer the mixture to a medium, flat, rimmed plate. Mix the breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese and place it on another plate. Dip the eggplants first into the egg mixture, then into the breadcrumbs mixture, and finally, place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the eggplants generously with olive oil and bake them in a preheated oven at 200° Celsius (390° Fahrenheit) for 30-40 minutes until golden brown on the outside, and very soft on the inside.
Tomato Sauce
- Boil plenty of water in a medium-sized pan. With a small knife, carve a little cross-shape into the bottom of the cherry tomatoes and tomatoes. Cook in the boiling water for 1 minute, then drain. With a small knife, peel the tomatoes, starting at the spot where you cut the cross, while they are still warm. Set the cherry tomatoes aside, halve the tomatoes, remove all the seeds, and cut into small cubes.
- Heat olive oil on a non-stick frying pan. Cook onions for about 5 minutes until transparent. Add the salt, crushed garlic cloves, and tomato cubes and let them simmer for approx. 15 min. Remove from the heat, remove the garlic cloves, add the basil and pepper, mix until well-combined.
To Serve
- Arrange the tomato sauce on plates, placing the eggplants on top. Distribute the peeled cherry tomatoes, squash the mozzarella slightly, and add to plates. Drizzle over a little olive oil and sea salt and serve with fresh basil.
