Eggplant Fritters
You can make eggplant into fritters, seasoned with almost anything you like, but my taste here runs to Parmesan; the combination is magical. Fritters are usually deep-fried, but it isn’t necessary in this case. Here they are made into flat, pancake like forms and cooked in far less oil. Like most fried foods, these are best hot; but, as with most fritters, they’re acceptable up to a half hour after they’ve been made (and, though I wouldn’t serve them to company this way, they’re pretty good cold).
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Trim and peel the eggplant and cut it into 1-inch cubes. If the eggplants are large, sprinkle them with salt, put them in a colander, and let them sit for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour. Rinse.
Step 2
Set a large pot of water to boil. Blanch the eggplant in the boiling water for about 5 minutes or until soft. Drain in a colander, pressing to get rid of as much moisture as possible. Combine in a food processor with the egg, parsley, Parmesan, garlic, and cayenne and process until smooth. Pulse in enough bread crumbs or flour to make a batter that will hold together.
Step 3
Put enough oil in a large nonstick skillet to coat the bottom to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Turn the heat to medium-high and wait until the oil is hot; when it’s ready, a pinch of flour will sizzle. Drop the batter from a spoon, as you would pancake batter, and cook until nicely browned on both sides. Do not crowd the fritters, and adjust the heat as necessary so they brown without burning. Total cooking time per pancake will be about 6 minutes. Serve hot or warm, with lemon wedges.
Zucchini Fritters
Step 4
Somewhat easier, if anything. In step 1, grate or shred an equal amount of zucchini; wring in a towel to squeeze out as much moisture as possible (if the zucchini are salted, the resulting pancakes will have slightly better texture, but it isn’t imperative). Blanching is not necessary. Combine by hand with the remaining ingredients and cook as directed.
