Eggplant Schnitzel

As I haven’t been long at the vegetarian party I must confess, there are things from my omnivore past that I miss. Like a good schnitzel for example. It’s not the taste of the meat, or the heavy feeling after that has me all nostalgic. No, it’s the crumbs. The lovely, crisp crumbed outer layer encasing a delicious warm center. I still make it for my meat eaters and it’s hands down one of their favorite dishes. So what’s a vegetarian to do when feeling left out? Schnitzel the humble eggplant of course!

The process is basically the same as a chicken schnitzel, flour, egg, then crumbs encase the inner food which is shallow fried in vegetable oil. The main difference is, I like to use polenta for the outer crumb layer instead of the traditional breadcrumbs.

A popular side dish in Northern Italy, polenta is made from cornmeal. When boiled, polenta expands and absorbs all the flavours of whatever it’s been cooking in. You will find it served either soft, like mash potato, or left to firm up and then fried in little squares.

I keep polenta in the house because it makes a nice change from pasta or rice sometimes. But once I realised I could use polenta as a substitute for breadcrumbs on my veg I haven’t looked back. I actually prefer my eggplant done in this way.

With it’s crispy outer layer and tender sweet filling my eggplant schnitzel is delicious served hot or cold at any time of the day. Think, family BBQs, weeknight dinners or throw together a schnitzel sandwich for a Saturday arvo picnic in the park. I just love this cheeky twist on the traditional and I hope you do too. Have a go and let me know what you think.

Serves 4

1 medium eggplant

1/2 heaped cup of plain flour

1 large egg (lightly beaten in a shallow dish)

1 cup polenta

salt and pepper

Method:

For the Prep:

Wash your eggplant under a cold tap, pat dry, cut into 1cm rounds and set aside.
Grab yourself a sheet of baking paper and pour the 1/2 cup of plain flour in the center. Season the flour generously with salt and pepper then gently mix it through with a spoon.
On a clean workbench put the following in a row: first the plain flour mix, then the egg, then a shallow dish with your cup of polenta. Right at the end of the row place an empty clean plate.
Take your eggplant round and dip it in the flour so it’s well covered on both sides. Tap off any excess flour and put the eggplant round into your egg. Let it sit in the egg for a moment then, using a fork, flip it over so the other side can soak up some egg too. Using your fork again, lift the eggplant out of the egg, holding it over the egg bowl for a moment to let any excess fall off then put it in the polenta. Flip the eggplant over in the polenta a couple of times so it’s well covered. Then finish by putting it on the clean plate at the end.
Repeat the process will remaining eggplant rounds until all gone.
Place the plate with the crumbed eggplant in the fridge and let it sit for around a half an hour.

To Cook:

After around a half an hour your eggplant schnitzel is ready to fry. Grab yourself a large fry pay and generously cover the bottom with some good quality vegetable oil. Heat the pan slowly on the stove until the oil is hot but not smoking.
Add your first eggplant schnitzel, remembering to drop it in away from yourself. Depending on the size of your pan, you can fry the schnitzels 4 at a time making sure you don’t crowd the pan.
Give them around 1 minute on each side. Or, when the schnitzels are golden on both sides remove from the pan to a plate covered with kitchen paper. The kitchen paper helps to absorb any excess oil.
Repeat this process until all your eggplant schnitzels are cooked.