Vegetables - Alan's Cookbook

Eggplant
Properly made, eggplant is the closest thing in the vegetable
kingdom to butter.
Eggplant
Coarse sea salt
Inexpensive (bulk) olive
oil
Eggplant should be glossy and firm when bought.
Though it can be kept for a few days, it’s really
best to buy it within a day or two of using it.
If you like, peel the eggplant. Slice it into 3/4”
thick slices. Sprinkle some salt in a cereal bowl,
place a slice on it, sprinkle again, place another
piece on top of that, and continue until you’ve
made a tower of all the slices with salt on each
side of every slice. This will sweat the eggplant
and get the excess water out of it.
Let sit for 1/2 hour, draining off water once or
twice. Don’t overdo this; too long and the finished
pieces will be too salty.
Rinse each piece with water, fold in a cloth towel,
and press down hard with the heel of your hand.
One towel should be good for two eggplants.
They’ll look pretty squashed, but fear not, frying
will fix that.
Use 1/8” to 1/4” of oil in a very hot pan, and fry
the slices until golden brown on each side. Drain
onto paper towels. Serve plain or use in
numerous other recipes in this book.
Serves 6
Cooking time: 1 hour
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