Forget about deep-fried and ditch your fast-food french fries. Upgrade to these cheesy eggplant fries for the perfect healthy snack.
We Filipinos always love to snack, that’s why we eat almost five times a day! We always look for something a little bit salty and crunchy so we would normally resort to junk food, potato chips, or the classic french fries. However, these are empty calories with not much nutrition at all! So why not try making the healthy switch and get something actually worth the calories?
Eggplants are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which makes this the healthier alternative to the humble potato. Vitamin C, K, B6, magnesium, thiamin, niacin, and many more are just a few examples of what a simple eggplant contains. It’s also rich in fiber which aids in digestion and absorbs cholesterol. As the fiber goes through our bodies, it “cleans up” the bile in our systems and helps our body naturally clean itself. This in turn improves our heart health and decreases risk for cancer and heart disease.
That purple colored skin isn’t just pretty to look at but it’s rich in beneficial antioxidants and anthocyanin. This improves our memory and cognitive brain function. So, remember to wash these eggplants thoroughly and keep the skin on!
Serving size: 4-5 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: Oven or stove top
Ingredients:
- ½ kg eggplants
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 tbsp of dried oregano
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup of tomato paste or sauce
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 220 °C and proceed to coat a baking pan with oil.
- Wash your eggplants and slice them into ½ inch thick sticks to resemble french fries. Drop each cut piece into a bowl of milk to marinate. The milk will help prevent it from oxidizing and gives an added creamy texture. Leave the eggplants to soak in the milk as you proceed to do the other steps.
- Mix the bread crumbs, grated parmesan, dried oregano, black pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl.
- Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and set aside another bowl for the flour.
- Remove the eggplant slices from the milk, coat evenly with flour, dip into the eggs, and lastly coat evenly with the bread crumb mixture.
- Line them up on the oiled-up baking pan and bake in the oven for 3-4 minutes before flipping them over on the other side. Continue baking for another 3-4 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a mixing bowl. Serve with a hot bowl of tomato sauce or ketchup as a dip.
Chef’s Tip: No oven? You can also deep fry this over the stove on very high heat.
