An Easy Eggplant Recipe: Fried Eggplant Topped with Sauteed Tomatoes, Herbs and Cheddar Cheese

I hope you enjoyed the past two weeks of guest posts.  I know I did and enjoyed it so much I plan on featuring more of my favorite blogs in the winter time. (If you have a blog and would like to contribute a guest post on Spain in Iowa, please leave me a comment with the name of your blog. )

It was a time of refreshment for me but honestly, with so much producing in the garden and breath-taking summer colors in bounty at the farmers market, I couldn’t help but continue to shoot pictorials.

I told myself not to, but what can I say… I love seasonal food and capturing it at the peak of its beauty.

Isn’t that yummy?

One thing is for sure, with so much producing and time spent in putting up the harvest, quick meals are essential during this time of the year.

The greatest thing is that it’s a snap when you have the seasons freshest ingredients from your garden or the farmers market.

Fried Eggplant Topped with Sauteed Tomatoes, Herbs and Cheddar Cheese

This is a simple fried eggplant recipe highlighting the flavors of freshly picked tomatoes. The tomatoes are slightly sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, mixed with a blend of basil and mint. Super simple, super fresh.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut in slices 1/2″ thick
• breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
• 2 tbls fresh picked basil, julienne
• 2 tbls fresh picked mint, julienne
• 3-4 tbls extra virgin olive oil
• cheddar cheese
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Slice the eggplants. Starting with one layer at a time, lay out on a plate and salt each piece to draw out moisture from the vegetable.  Allow to rest for 15-30 minutes.  Once enough moisture has been released from the eggplant, pat each piece dry.

3. In a cast iron skillet or pan, heat about a 1/2″ of olive oil.

4. To the sliced eggplant, first dip in beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs.  Fry each piece in the olive oil until browned on both sides.  Drain on a paper towel on a dish.  Work in batches and continue this process until all of your eggplant slices have been breaded and fried.

5. Once your eggplant has been fried, in a separate pan, heat 3-4 tbls of extra virgin olive oil.  Saute the fresh cut tomatoes, basil and mint for 3-4 minutes or until the tomato has warmed through.  Add salt to taste.

6. Lay out the eggplant slices on a serving platter topped with the tomato blend and sprinkled with cheddar cheese.

What are some of your simple recipes highlighting freshly picked vegetables from the garden or farmers market?  Please share in the comments… it’s a busy time for all of us.