Fried Breaded Eggplant

Easy side dish... fried breaded eggplant 

We have been trying to introduce ourselves to some new vegetables or at least ones that are new to us. We were at the grocery store last week when we came across some beautiful looking eggplants. Mike and I looked at each other and asked the same question... "have you ever eaten eggplant before"?

The answer for Mike was "no". My answer was "I think once when I was a young kid, but I don't have any idea what it tasted like".  I know we live a sheltered life.

So that prompted us to put one of those lovely eggplants into our cart. When we got it home I started looking for a recipe, because I was not quite sure what to do with it. I wanted something simple, but was hoping something that would taste yummy.

When I found this recipe that included Parmesan and I decided that hopefully we couldn't go wrong if Parmesan was in the recipe. We made it when our family got together so that they could all have a try of the eggplant. I have to admit we all enjoyed this simple dish and I hope to try some more recipes using eggplant.

We didn't really alter the recipe since we were not sure what to expect, the only thing I did was sprinkle some additional Parmesan cheese over the eggplant once it was fried... because more Parmesan cannot hurt.

Fried Breaded Eggplant (Source: grouprecipes.com) 
Ingredients:
1 small eggplant
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese plus more for after frying
3/4 cup breadcrumb
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Flour for dredging
Vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
1. Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch thick slices and set aside.
2. Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and set aside.
3. Mix egg, water, salt, and pepper, blend together and set aside.
4. Place flour on a plate and set up your stations for dipping the eggplant.
5. Dredge each eggplant slices in the flour, shaking off the excess and dip into the egg mixture.
6. Then place the eggplant into the breadcrumb and cheese mixture, pat firmly so each side is well coated on both sides.
7. Heat a skillet that has been coated with vegetable oil (just enough for frying) over medium heat.
8. Once heated place the breaded eggplant in the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
9. Remove from pan and place on paper towels. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese. Repeat until all slices are fried.
10. Serve immediately.

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