Every so often I buy eggplant because for some reason I feel as though I should cook with it and like it. I don't know where this urge came from, but there it is. I feel like eggplant parmesan is a hassle and usually ends up greasy. Eggplant's ability to absorb grease and water can make it difficult to deal with and I also find it goes from not cooked, to mushy in about 20 seconds difference of cook time, so you have to watch it!
For this round of eggplant cookery, I found a recipe for eggplant fritters in the Joy of Cooking cookbook (right above the calf brain fritters). It involves precooking the eggplant in some water with a teaspoon of vinegar then creating a batter with some flour, baking powder, an egg and salt. Once the batter is made you have to let it rest for two hours, then fry it up! I have tried a similar batter in my deep fryer before and it slid through the basket before setting up and made a big mess, so this time I went with a sauce pan and enough oil to go 2/3 of the way up the fritters, requiring a flip halfway through cooking. I had a little trouble with them sticking to the bottom of my pan, but learned I just had to be firm with my spatula and all was well.
I made some tartar sauce to dip in, not knowing what might be traditional for this application, but really what savory fried food doesn't go well with tartar sauce? This may be one of my favorite eggplant concoctions thus far, but I've been told to try it on pizza... perhaps next time I get the urge in the produce aisle for this purple delight.
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