September Vegetable Spotlight: Eggplant

If you are anything like me, you may not know what vegetables and fruits are in season. In Ohio, one of the vegetables in season in September is the mysterious Eggplant. Besides being a beautiful color, eggplant is nutritious and a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C, and antioxidants (Link, 2017).

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One of my neighbors had a ripened eggplant in her garden that she was not going to use and generously gave it to me to try. I have eaten eggplant at Olive Garden before, which was of course delicious, and had tried to cook it once for myself and it did NOT go so well. I ventured to try cooking egg plant again! This time I used an air fryer, which by the way is amazing and I would highly recommend it. I found a recipe that sounded good and went for it! One thing to know about me is that I am terrible at following recipe directions. I tend to take the instructions as suggestions and just do what I think sounds like it would be tasty and I don’t always measure. Because of this I am not here to give cooking advice, but want to spot light some vegetables and fruits to try each month.

The original recipe I used was by Holly, on Spend with Pennies (2021). I first cut the eggplant into slices and sprinkled salt on top to get out any extra moisture. After leaving it for about a half hour I used a paper towel to press out any excess moisture. I then dipped the eggplant in a bowl of whisked eggs and then in a bowl with panko, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Then I cooked it in the air fryer. for 12 minutes on 380 degrees and flipped the slices after 6 minutes. The eggplant was soft and went well with quinoa and brown rice noodles and tomato basil sauce. Consider giving eggplant a try this month and find a recipe that fits the cooking tools and equipment you have at home!

Leave a comment if you try a recipe with egg plant this month!

-Daejanna

References:

Link, R. (2017). 7 Surprising Health Benefits of Eggplants. Health Line. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eggplant-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

Holly (2021). Air Fryer Eggplant. Spending with Pennies. https://www.spendwithpennies.com/air-fryer-eggplant/#wprm-recipe-container-203892