Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Fries

It's the end of August and like many people with vegetable gardens, you may be finding yourself with a surfeit of eggplants. We sure have an abundant supply and for the first time, they're not those typical shiny oblong purple eggplants that are used in Italian cooking. The ones growing in our garden are called "fairytale eggplants" and they are small and stripe-y looking. The grow only about three to four inches long when mature, making it a little difficult to cut large, long slices. I was trying to figure out what to do with them when I came up with the idea of making baked eggplant fries. 

In order to get the stick shape I was looking for, I cut thick slices (about 1" thick), then sliced the slices into three or four pieces. See photo below:

Using the traditional method of breading anything from chicken cutlets to vegetables, I arranged three plates with flour; beaten egg; and a bread crumb mixture. The bread crumb mixture contained both regular and panko bread crumbs, plus parmesan cheese and fresh, minced oregano. The first time I made these I used only panko, but they were so crunchy it hurt my teeth, so I tempered it with regular bread crumbs.

It's a messy job to dip the eggplant sticks into the three separate mixtures but keep a moist paper towel handy to clean up your fingers when you need to. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil, then arrange the eggplant sticks on top and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake in a 425 degree oven. 

Flip them once while they're in the oven, and after 15-20 minutes, you'll have these crunchy, delicious baked eggplant fries. They make a great side dish, or serve them as an hors d'oeuvres, with a marinara sauce or aioli.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Fries

3 or 4 "baby" eggplants or 2 traditional purple eggplants

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

3/4 cup regular breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

a handful of fresh herbs, minced (I used oregano but basil, thyme or marjoram would be nice too)

olive oil to drizzle on cookie sheet and over top of eggplants

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the eggplants into thick 1" slices, then slice each slice into three or four "sticks."

In three separate plates, place the flour; the beaten egg; and the bread crumb mixture, made by mixing the two bread crumbs with parmesan cheese and minced oregano. 

 Dip each stick into first the flour, then the egg and finally the bread crumb/parmesan mixture.

Smear a cookie sheet with olive oil, then place the "sticks" over the olive oil. Drizzle more olive oil on top, then place in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, flipping once. 

Serve with a marinara sauce or aioli, or just plain.

Seared Tuna With Salmoriglio Sauce

Seared tuna is a delicious meal that takes only a couple of minutes to cook. Serve it with this salmoriglio sauce and you've got a real winner, for company or for any night. But first you need to be sure of getting really fresh tuna. We were fortunate to receive this gift of fresh tuna last week from our friend Lou, who had just returned from an overnight fishing trip, where he and friends travel 60 miles offshore in search of the prized catch. It doesn't get much fresher than this, unless you cook it onboard the boat.

These are the pieces I cooked. One is thicker than the other, so you need to factor the thickness into your cooking time. Cooking time depends on not just the thickness, but how rare you like your tuna. I don't like it raw, but I didn't want to overcook the fish where no pink was showing. I first smeared the fish with a little olive oil, then pressed some "everything seasoning" into the flesh. In the past I've used a combination of white and black sesame seeds and served it with an Asian-inspired sauce (see that recipe here), but I wanted to use some of my fresh herbs, so I decided to make salmoriglio, a commonly used sauce in Sicily and Calabria. We loved the combination of flavors.

One mistake I would caution you not to make is not to have the pan "screaming hot." It burned most of the seeds and I had to scrape them off. I would cook it at medium heat, and just flip it once, with about three to five minutes per side for a thick piece (1 inch or so), and just a minute per side on a thinner piece.

This will give you a pink interior, but a bit more cooked flesh near the surface. If you want it even more rare, then adjust and cook it less. I served it with baked eggplant fries (recipe coming soon).

Salmoriglio sauce is traditionally made with parsley and oregano, but my parsley seemed to have fizzled out mid-summer, so I grabbed a few other herbs, like marjoram, chives and oregano, that were still going strong. There are no rules, so use what makes your taste buds happy. This was definitely a happy marriage of flavors.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

Seared Tuna with Salmoriglio Sauce

about 1 pound of fresh tuna

a little olive oil to smear over the fish

1/4 cup of "everything seasoning" or a mixture of white and black sesame seeds

for the salmoriglio sauce:

zest of one lemon

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup- 3/4 cup fresh herbs (use parsley, oregano, marjoram or chives or a combination of them)

2 cloves garlic

salt, pepper to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

Remove the fish from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1/2 hour. 

Meanwhile make the sauce. Place all ingredients into a blender and whir until almost smooth. It's ok if there are tiny bits of herbs showing. Set it aside while you cook the fish. 

Pat the tuna dry and smear with a little olive oil on both sides, then press the everything seasoning or sesame seeds into the flesh. Sear the fish in skillet (I used cast iron) on medium heat, flipping it once after a couple of minutes. If you like your tuna cooked more, sear it longer. If you want it rare, cook it less. A lot depends on the thickness of the tuna.

Serve with the salmoriglio sauce.