Another recipe from the Club's top chef: Crisp herb cheese and eggplant appetizer

As people are expanding their cooking acumen, many are also looking something unique to dazzle friends starting to socialize again. The following recipe has its roots in Istanbul and can serve double duty. 

It is a terrific hors d’oeuvre and holds the heat from frying quite a while. It is best to plan on allowing the eggplant “sandwiches” to cool rather than immediately serve after frying because the interior can get quite hot and runny. 

No cocktail party in the offing? The recipe also can be the filling for a vegetarian sandwich, eminently satisfying due to the crust crunch, rich cheese interior and soothing smoothness of eggplant.

The sandwiches are a bit labor intensive but luscious.  They can be made well in advance of use, and safely live in the freezer until needed.  No need to thaw before frying; they can go from freezer to fryer until golden brown.  You will get rave reviews on these.

 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Chinese or Japanese eggplant (long and skinny)
• 6-8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 ounces cream cheese (optional)
• ½ bunch parsley, about ¼ cup after de-stemmed and minced
• 2 scallion, green part only, minced (optional)
• 3 eggs, one of which is separated, yolk and white
• Salt/pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying:  about 1 inch in deep skillet; canola or peanut oil work well
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup seasoned breadcrumb such as Japanese panko

Procedure:

1. Peel eggplant skin in “stripes,” i.e., intervals every ½ inch or so.  Cut off and discard ends.  Cut eggplant into 3/8 – ½ inch rounds.  Hold.  If the eggplant seems a bit seedy, you can salt the cut slices in a colander and allow them to weep for about an hour.  Rinse well under cold water and allow to dry on absorbent toweling.  Generally, however, there is no need to salt Japanese eggplant; it is generally not as bitter as its European cousin.
2. Mix feta, cream cheese, parsley, scallions and pepper in bowl.  Taste.  Add salt as needed.  Fold in egg yolk.  This filling is best mixed with incredibly clean hands to assure feta is well crumbled.
3. Make eggplant sandwiches:  place cheese mixture between two pieces of eggplant, about as thick as the slices of eggplant and press together
4. Set up three step breading station: (1) flour in shallow pan, (2) 2 ½ eggs in second, blended, (3) seasoned breadcrumbs in third.  The flour and/or breadcrumbs can be seasoned with your choice of additions:  herbs, onion or garlic powder, chile flakes, cumin, Aleppo pepper and/or cinnamon (a Middle Eastern favorite).
5. With one hand, dredge sandwiches in flour and place in egg dish; with 2d hand, coat with egg mixture and breadcrumbs.  Keep one hand dry and the other wet.  Wearing disposable gloves for this operation is helpful. 
6. Put breaded eggplant sandwiches on parchment in freezer for about an hour.
7. Heat oil and fry until golden on both sides; do not crowd pan.  Serve after slight cool down
8. These can be fried well ahead of time.  At time of service, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Transfer fried eggplant to flat baking dish and re-warm, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.
9. No dipping sauce is needed, but napkins are for the gooey rich centers of these Turkish treats.