5 Ingredients or Fewer

Eggplant Every Night-simply fried eggplant dressed with yogurt, mint, olive oil

by:
April 20, 2015
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 3-4
Author Notes

I love eggplant - if it is prepared the right way. When prepped properly and gently sauteed, it can taste like CANDY! —smosann

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 slim eggplant (0.75 - 1 lb)
  • 2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • coarse salt
  • full fat plain yogurt (can substitute plain yogurt of choice)
  • 3-4 sprigs fresh mint
  • additional olive oil for drizzle
  • fresh ground or coarse ground pepper
Directions
  1. Quarter one slim eggplant lengthwise, then slice into approx 1 inch chunks. Place on cookie sheet lined with paper towel atop newspaper. Sprinkle coarse salt liberally over one fleshy side of eggplant for at least one hour.
  2. After at least one hour, blot eggplant with ample paper towel. Heat wide skillet (I used 12-inch cast iron skillet) for 2 minutes over medium high heat. Reduce heat to between medium to medium-high then add salad oil and heat for 2 minutes. Then add olive oil and heat for 2 minutes.
  3. Once satisfied that oils and pan are sufficiently hot, add chunked eggplant to skillet and cook for 3 minutes. No need to stir during this time. After 3 minutes, flip eggplant and continue to cook for additional 3 minutes. No need to stir during this time.
  4. Flip eggplant and cook for a couple of additional minutes (this would be the second flip). A random "flip" or "stir" is appropriate at this point. You may want/need to repeat again after a couple of minutes. Depending on freshness of eggplant, this step might take 2-5 minutes. A lot will depend on your preference for doneness of eggplant
  5. Once eggplant has reached appropriate doneness, remove eggplant to serving bowl/plate. Top with yogurt (I use full fat Fage yogurt), drizzle with olive oil, and serve with fresh mint (torn into small pieces) and fresh ground pepper.
  6. Optional: toasted pine nuts would be a lovely last minute addition to the dish
  7. Oil use is dependent on how long eggplant has been allowed to drain. I started off with 2T vegetable and 2T olive oil. After flipping eggplant for first time, I added a couple of additional T of olive oil. Addition of mint is important so wouldn't attempt to add dry mint. Make the dish seasonal when fresh mint is available.

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