How to Cook Eggplant on the Stove

Make a tasty vegetarian meal using eggplant.

Eggplant is an aubergine-hued fruit featuring a firm white flesh that turns tender when cooked. A versatile food item, eggplant can be used to make everything from Indian curries to French ratatouille to Middle Eastern baba ghanoush. If you want to cook eggplant on a stove, pan-fry it to a golden brown and serve it over hot pasta topped with marinara sauce. You can also use the fried slices to make eggplant Parmesan.

Instructions

1. Rinse an eggplant under cool water and pat it dry with a paper towel. Cut the stem off of the eggplant and discard it. Cut the eggplant into 3/4-inch slices.

2. Sprinkle salt over each side of the eggplant slices and set them into a colander placed over a dish; the salt will allow some of the water to sweat out of the eggplant. Rinse the salt off of the eggplant slices after 30 minutes. Pat the slices dry with a paper towel.

3. Beat three eggs in a medium bowl. Add 2 cups of dried, Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs to another bowl.

4. Heat 4 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dip each slice in the egg mixture and then the breadcrumbs. Place the breaded eggplant slices in the pan and fry each side for 3 minutes, or until the breading is golden brown. Repeat the process until all of the eggplant slices have been fried.

5. Remove the fried eggplant slices from the skillet and allow them to drain on a paper towel before serving them.

References

• All Recipes: Eggplant Parmesan
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: The Magic of Pasta with Eggplant