Eggplant is a wonderfully hearty vegetable that can serve as a main course. This is very much the case in Italian and Italian-American cooking as well. I enjoy a good Eggplant Parmigiana as much as a good Chicken Parmigiana. More often though, I lean toward an Eggplant Milanese. It’s a bit faster to pull off on a weeknight, and every bit as tasty. Simple breaded and fried eggplant rounds. They’re pretty much a blank canvas. One could go for the traditional lemon wedge that commonly accompanies a Milanese, but I prefer a yogurt based red pepper sauce to top mine. Here is how I make Eggplant Milanese.
Ingredients
1 small or medium eggplant
1 cup flour
½ tsp salt, plus more for sweating
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan
Vegetable oil or olive oil cooking spray
1 small or medium eggplant
1 cup flour
½ tsp salt, plus more for sweating
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan
Vegetable oil or olive oil cooking spray
For Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
1 5 oz container of plain Greek yogurt
3-4 roasted pequillo peppers from jar
2 cloves of garlic
12 basil leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
1 5 oz container of plain Greek yogurt
3-4 roasted pequillo peppers from jar
2 cloves of garlic
12 basil leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
For arugula salad:
1 5oz container of baby arugula
⅛ cup olive oil
⅛ cup white wine vinegar
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp honey
¼ tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
Optional: ½ cup shaved parmesan (or more as desired)
1 5oz container of baby arugula
⅛ cup olive oil
⅛ cup white wine vinegar
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp honey
¼ tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
Optional: ½ cup shaved parmesan (or more as desired)
The first thing we need to do is prep the eggplant. Cut the top stem and leaves off of the eggplant and then cut about ¼ inch off the bottom. Peel the skin from the eggplant, and then cut the eggplant into ¾ inch rounds.
Before we can bread the eggplant, we must first sweat it. This means we will draw some of the bitter liquid out of the eggplant with salt. This will help improve the flavor. Cover a baking tray with paper towels. Lay the eggplant slices on top of the paper towels. Generously salt each slice, flip them, and then salt the other side. Allow them to sweat for about 30 minutes.
While the eggplant sweats, make the red pepper sauce. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a food processor. Blend the ingredients until they fully combine into a smooth sauce. The sauce may be a bit loose. Pour the sauce into a bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and thicken.
After 30 minutes wipe the beaded liquid and excess salt off of both sides of each eggplant slice. You are now ready to bread them.
Add the flour to a bowl large enough to toss the eggplant rounds in without creating a mess of spillage. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and mix together.
Add the flour to a bowl large enough to toss the eggplant rounds in without creating a mess of spillage. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and mix together.
In another bowl crack the eggs, add the milk, and whisk until completely blended and smooth.
In one last bowl (again large enough to toss without messes) combine the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan Stir to mix together well.
Toss an eggplant round in the flour so that it is fully coated. Shake off any excess flour, then dip both sides of the eggplant round in the egg wash, ensuring it is well coated with egg. Lastly toss the eggplant round in the breadcrumb mix, ensuring it is fully and evenly coated in breadcrumb. Shake off any excess. Repeat this for each eggplant round.
Add the vegetable oil to a warm pan over medium heat. Fry the eggplant in batches and be sure not to crowd the pan. Fry each eggplant round for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden. Keep the batches warm in a 200 °F oven.
Lastly, make the arugula salad. Add the arugula to a large enough bowl. In a smaller bowl add the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, honey, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Whisk well to fully combine into a dressing. Add the dressing to the arugula and toss well to fully coat the arugula with the dressing. Add the shaved parmesan and toss to mix, if desired.
To serve, place two fried eggplant rounds on a plate and top with the red pepper sauce. Place a portion of the arugula salad beside the eggplant on the plate. Enjoy!