Eggplant Fries

I found this little recipe on Pinterest as well. Let's just assume most of the interesting recipes I'm trying out are from Pinterest unless I say otherwise. The original recipe is from the blog Use Real Butter. They got the recipe from this blog called The Hungry Mouse (check that blog for tips.) I'm not sure why I try these random recipes, but I really enjoy eggplants, so I guess that's what drew me to this one.

First off, I don't own a drying rack, which is a necessity if you are frying things. If you don't own one of these then the fries basically just sit in the oil after you fry them and they are incredibly soggy. That's kind of what happened to me.

Also, I started a mini grease fire, which was terrifying. The stove top actually had a flame sitting on it so I freaked out and took the pot off of it and just stood there watching it. Thank God it just went out because I had no idea what to do, I'm not even sure I have a fire extinguisher in my apartment, and if I do (which I think I have one because I'm pretty sure would be illegal if I didn't) I don't really know how to use it or if that's the proper thing to do. A coworker told me you are supposed to pour salt on it to smother the flame. So, just a little tip, but if your house explodes then after trying that trick, don't sue me.

Eggplant Fries

3/4 cup flour
2 tsps garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper, fresh ground
oil for frying
3 baby eggplants or 2 medium eggplants
salt for seasoning
honey

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, dried oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper until thoroughly mixed. In a heavy-bottom medium saucepan, heat at least two inches of oil to about 350F. Peel the eggplants and slice into 3/4-inch thick fingers. Toss the eggplant slices a few at a time in the seasoned flour until well coated. When the oil is ready, drop a few sticks of eggplant into the oil – they should begin sizzling immediately. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan or have the oil temperature drop too much. When they begin to brown (about a minute) flip them over and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Remove the eggplant fries from the oil and let drain on a cooling rack. Serve hot with a shake of salt and a drizzle of honey. A great snacking appetizer for 4 people.

Mine ended up being good, but since I didn't drain them properly they were super oily. I used vegetable oil, but the original recipe says they used olive oil, which would probably healthier and more delicious. I know the honey thing sounds really weird, but it is so good. If you make them, try them with honey. It has this sweet with salty goodness like when you dip chicken McNuggets into honey. Other people do that right? It can't just be me. I also got tired of making wedges, and I cottage fries so some of mine I made as round slices, which I found to be scrumptious. I didn't use multiple tiny eggplants, although apparently those are sweeter than the enormous one I got from Wal-Mart, but the enormous one worked fine I thought, and I only needed one.

Here's a picture of my finished product.