{ 2008 06 04 }

Eggplant Sticks

eggplant sticks

Oh my but these were a hit. With everyone. My lovely intern, my dashing husband, my apparently starving son (he ate, like, an entire eggplant’s worth), and my own darn self. I’m working on some eggplant recipes and was thinking of delicious eggplant dishes I have eaten. The fried eggplant sticks at Galatoire’s in New Orleans (that’s Lousiana, baby!) came to mind. But who wants to deep-fry? Hardly anyone. Hardly even me, and I LUV the crispy. So… why not try “oven-fried” which is a very fancy way of saying “baked”?

The eggplants were sticked, brined (that’s the secret to all my fabulous eggplant creations: soak the pieces in salty water for 1/2 hour, it helps the pieces hold their shape and removes any bitterness they may have from, say, a lack of recognition or a bad break-up), egged, bread-crumbed, and baked at 425° until they looked like they do above. (For 2 eggplants I used 2 eggs and 2 cups breadcrumbs–adding salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne to the crumbs before rubbing about 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil into the crumbs so they would brown easier. For a proper recipe see Local Foods.)

Here’s the kicker: I thought that whole “dip them in powdered sugar” thing at Galatoire’s might only taste good at Galatoire’s under the gentle sway of a sazerac and keen observation of a professional waiter, but I was wrong. It’s just plain delicious. Sprinkle, dip, dust–I don’t care, just try them with some powdered sugar. Seriously.

Posted by Molly Watson on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008, at 2:01 pm, and filed under cooked it, eggplant.

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