Pan-fried eggplants, a tasty grandmother’s recipe.
Simple, rustic, flavorful.
The Pan-fried eggplants are a very simple dish to prepare, very affordable, and very tasty and flavorful. This recipe is always prepared by my mom, and they are incredibly delicious even without meat.
Perfect as a side dish, preparing a little more as a main course, but also perfect for dressing pasta, stuffing sandwiches, or using as filling for savory pies and rustic dishes. Try them, and they will win you over at the first taste. And they are perfect for everyone, even vegetarians.
Try also:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Fall
Ingredients
- 3 black oval eggplants (if small, use 4)
- 2 large onions
- 3.5 oz pitted green olives (I used homemade ones)
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste chili pepper
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Lid
Steps
Rinse the eggplants, remove the stems, and cut them into 3 parts, then into sticks 0.4 x 0.4 inches (you can also cut them into chunks, I prefer sticks, but it doesn’t change much in the final result), collect them in a bowl adding a pinch of salt almost on each layer.
Let them rest for a couple of hours so they release their water and lose bitterness.
Peel the onions and slice them thinly, rinse the cherry tomatoes well and cut them into halves or quarters, set them aside.
Let’s start cooking.
Put a generous drizzle of oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the onion laying it in an even layer.
Turn the flame to low and add the eggplants, squeezing them as you go to remove the watery base they released, also arranging the eggplants in an even layer like the onions.
Add all the squeezed eggplants and add the pitted olives and chili pepper to taste (you can also omit it).
Stir, slightly raise the flame, and cover with a lid, starting the cooking by occasionally shaking the pan to ensure even cooking. The eggplants should be cooked and well browned on all sides (remember that the more browned they are, the tastier they will be).
As soon as the eggplants are well browned, add the cherry tomatoes and let them cook for a few minutes covered with a lid (always stir by shaking the pan so as not to mash the eggplants).
As soon as the cherry tomatoes are wilted, taste for salt, add some torn basil, and serve.
The pan-fried eggplants are ready to be enjoyed, they are great hot, cold, or warm… Enjoy your meal!
Try also all my other eggplant recipes, you can find them CLICKING HERE.
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS RECIPE SHARE IT! AT THE TOP YOU WILL FIND THE BUTTON 😊
CLICK HERE TO LIKE MY FACEBOOK PAGE, for you many recipes every day.
JOIN MY FACEBOOK GROUP BY CLICKING HERE.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST
ENABLE PUSH AND MESSENGER NOTIFICATIONS, YOU WILL RECEIVE MY RECIPES FOR FREE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE EVERY DAY.
And if you make one of my recipes, send me a picture, I will happily post it on my Facebook page.
You can store the pan-fried eggplants in the fridge for 2 days. You can also freeze them.
If there are leftovers, they are also great for dressing pasta. Just chop them a bit, add the pasta cooked al dente, and mix with some pasta cooking water.
