This eggplant appetizer is incredible! My mom usually made it for most of our Holiday dinners when I was growing up. This appetizer is a very common Russian dish but it never gets old for me. It also looks beautiful on the table, with the bright red color of the tomatoes that you top it with, and even more pretty when you garnish the plate with parsley. Or a tomato rose. (I have yet to master that one lol.) Some people even decorate it with extra mayo on top of the tomato by putting it in a frosting bag and drawing flowers or some cute shape with it. So you can get creative with this, and I would Love to see your ideas! This appetizer is always a hit with my family and I am sure it will be with your family too! 🙂
Fried Eggplant Appetizer {Serves 4-6}
Ingredients:
- 2 Medium Eggplants (I do not sugest using large eggplants for this recipe!)
- 3/4 Cup Real Mayonnaise ( I used Hellman’s Brand)
- 2-4 Garlic cloves (Depending on your like of Garlic. I did 4 cuz we love garlic)
- 5 Campare Tomatoes (because they are small) OR 1-2 Regular Tomatoes
- 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour (To start off, you can add more later if needed)
- Salt/Pepper to taste
- 3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
Directions:
1) Wash the Eggplant. Cut it into even round pieces. Put flour into a plate, Sprinkle some salt and pepper into the flour and mix it. Set up a “Station”.
2) Heat 3 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil in a frying pan on Medium heat (I did a 5.5). Set up a large plate with paper towels or napkins.
3) Dip the eggplant pieces, one by one, into the flour, coating completely with the flour on both sides. Shake off any excess flour!
4) Gently place the eggplant covered with the flour into the frying pan. You will fit about 6 at a time. Fry on each side for about 3 minutes, or until it gets cooked through, a little golden in color and soft, then flip it over to the other side.
5) When both sides are cooked, place the eggplant onto the plate covered with the paper towels. Once the plate is full, add another layer of paper towels over the eggplant, then put the rest on top of the paper towel. You can have a stack of 3 or 4, just make sure there is a paper towel between each layer. This way the extra oil drains out from the eggplant.
6) Once the eggplant has cooled off, Mix the mayo and pressed garlic cloves (through the garlic clove press) together into a small bowl. Wash and cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
7) Put the eggplant onto a big plate or serving platter. Put a dollop of mayonnaise on each eggplant and spread it out evenly with a butter knife. Top each piece with a tomato slice. You can garnish with parsley if you want it to look extra fancy. I did not do anything special because I didn’t have much time.