Forgotten Recipe: Spicy Baked Eggplant with Wasabi Mayonnaise and Basil

One of the reasons I started this blog was to not “forget” about recipes. I tend to get mildly obsessed with certain ingredients and/or recipes and then make a certain dish over and over and over again. Usually, at one point my family gets sick of the dish and asks me not to make it for a while. And when I don’t make something for a while, I sometimes forget about it for a long time. This is what happened with eggplant. I recently realized that we haven’t had eggplant in a very long time, so I picked one up at the store (along with some daffodils).



After I picked it up, I realized that I didn’t exactly remember how I used to make it. I had a general idea, but I wasn’t sure about specifics. (At one point, many years ago, I used to put salt on the eggplant slices and let the water drain out in a colander; but that's not necessary with this recipe). Unfortunately, since it’s such an easy “recipe,” I had never written it down. Another reason I love this blog is that I actually write down my simple, “no brain” recipes. It’s actually quite helpful to know specifics when it comes to cooking…

Luckily, what I did with the eggplant slices worked out very well. They turned out very flavorful and crunchy on the outside and not at all soggy on the inside (hubby's words).

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, cut into slices
• 2 eggs, beaten (one egg would have probably been enough as I had quite a bit of leftover egg)
• 1 tablespoon Wasabi mayonnaise
• salt (optional – I used very little)
• pepper (optional – I used very little)
• A few drops of hot sauce (I may have used a few too many drops...)
  
• About 6 tablespoons bread crumbs; I actually used some crushed crackers
  
• Dried basil

I started by cutting the eggplant into slices. Next I beat the eggs and then added the Wasabi mayonnaise. I seasoned the mixture with a little bit of salt, pepper, and a few drops of hot sauce. Then I dipped each eggplant slice into the egg mixture, letting any extra egg mixture run off. Next I dipped the eggplant slices into the breadcrumbs, which I had mixed with dried basil.




Here are the eggplant slices before I put them into the oven.



I baked the eggplant slices at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and then turned the slices over and and baked them for an additional 12 minutes.





I will be making this dish, or a version therefore, again soon. The only problem was that the hot sauce and the Wasabi mayo made it a bit too spicy for the toddler. I think he in fact ended up with the spiciest slice in the batch (I must have not mixed it together all that well) and told me rather quickly that it was too hot. It's pretty cool that he now knows that "hot" refers to temperature as well as level of spiciness...


Questions: Do you like eggplant? If so, what is your favorite way to eat it? What are your "forgotten" foods that you should make again?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. You have a chance to win a copy of Core Performance for Women. In fact, you can get a total of up to five entries. The giveaway is open until Thursday, January 21 at 9:00 p.m. PST.


Be well,
Andrea