The Gourmet Mama

My husband brought me three perfect, purple eggplants the other day, even though he detests them himself. Since he was going to be out, I decided to turn a couple of them into something fun and tasty for my kids. The other night, while out at a bar with a friend, I’d seen eggplant sticks on a menu and the idea had been kicking around for a few days in my head, so I decided to whip some up.

You can bake or deep fry eggplant sticks. I opted for the deep frying simply because I figured it would be more appealing to my little ones, so this recipe calls for deep frying, but stay tuned since I will likely try an oven dish shortly with them! In the meantime these suckers are sooo good, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a cheesy taste that appeals to all ages. We served ours with ketchup, but you could easily use Ranch dressing or anything else you like.

In the words of my 4 year old, “These are NOT disgusting.” He and his little brother polished off a whole eggplant themselves!

Cheesy Eggplant Sticks

Serves 4-6

2 medium eggplants, peeled, cut into 1/2″ fingers
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. flour
1.5 Tblsp. chicken consomme powder
1 tsp. paprika
4 Tblsp. Parmesan or hard cheese (hard Mexican cheese will give more of a bite)

Lay the eggplant sticks out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt. Let sit 10 min. while you mix the flour, paprika, consomme and cheese in a bowl. If you want a bit more of a zing, try adding some chili powder (1 tsp) or pepper to the flour mixture.

In a deep pot, heat 2 c. oil until a bit of bread bubbles and browns when dropped into it.

Rinse and dry the eggplant sticks. Dip them into the egg mixture until thoroughly coated, then toss in the flour mixture. You can set these aside on a plate until the oil is hot enough.

Use a serving spoon to lower the sticks into the oil. Only put in as many as can float in the oil or they will stick together on top of each other and not cook properly.

Cook for about 7-10 min. or until dark golden brown. If you undercook they will still be firm inside and taste like eggplant . . . the goal here is a soft, squishy interior. Dip out with the spoon and drain on paper towels.

Let the oil heat up again and then add more eggplant sticks. Repeat until all have been cooked. Serve hot with dressing of your choice!