Wow, I so wish I had a story to tell you right now. My posts don’t feel right to me if I don’t have a little anecdote to tell you that somehow connects to the recipe at hand. But here’s the real truth…I am writing this post a few days in advance, because I am heading off to the International Food Bloggers Conference in Seattle this week. And it’s put me in a bit of a time crunch! I don’t want to leave you hanging without some recipes for a few days, but I am drawing a big fat blank on what to say. Do you hear those crickets chirping? Yep, that’s the silence in my head right now.
I am really excited to be heading back to the North West Coast. I spent some of my formative years in Vancouver, BC, with a few side trips across the border into Seattle. Although I’ve been back to Vancouver over the years, I haven’t been to Seattle since I was about 23. Dare I tell you how long ago that was? Well, all you have to do is look for my last birthday post and you can figure it out easily enough. The west coast and I get along quite well. Whereas other people abhor the rain, I never minded it all that much. What I did mind was carrying an umbrella that would be buffeted about in the strong winds. So I usually turned up to my classes at UBC looking like a drowned rat because I refused to carry an umbrella. And for all the rain you see in that part of the world, let me tell you something. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is as beautiful as the sun coming out on the mountains after the rain.
Now to the recipe. This is the recipe that actually got two out of my three kids to eat eggplant. Victory is mine! Well, partial victory anyway. I threw them together on a whim one day and they smelled so good frying that my son asked for some. And when he declared it delicious, the other two asked for some. Little Miss Margaret wasn’t a fan, but she’s not a fan of most food these days. Being almost 4, she’s in that lovely phase where anything remotely unfamiliar tasting doesn’t fly with her.
I’ve made these as eggplant “fries” too, by slicing the eggplant into long sticks about 1/2 inch wide. And they were fantastic that way, but a lot more work with all the flipping and turning in the pan to brown. It’s far easier and just as tasty to do wide rounds of eggplant. And the leftovers make a great bed for fried eggs the next morning!
Garlic Parmesan Fried Eggplant – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup butter coconut oil or other cooking oil
Instructions
- Slice eggplant into 1/3 inch thick slices and arrange in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and let sit 30 minutes.
- Blot eggplant dry with a paper towel.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk egg.
- In a larger bowl, whisk together almond flour, Parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 to 2 tbsp butter or oil over medium heat.
- Dip each slice of eggplant in egg, shaking off excess, then dredge in almond flour mixture and shake off excess.
- Working in batches, arrange eggplant slices in skillet and fry until coating is browned and crisp, a few minutes per side. Remove and let drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Add more oil and more eggplant slices to the pan. You may need to do 3 or even 4 batches, depending on the size of your skillet.
