Taking a stab at eggplant slab

Food & Dining

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Sometimes, all I want is a steak. Not a rib-eye or a T-bone, but some vegetable or another.

Those moments come when I’ve tired of the rice bowls and the stir-fries and the salads, in which every ingredient has been pre-chopped to make for easy-to-scoop mouthfuls; and the tacos and pizzas and sandwiches, which need nothing more than my hands. Rather than choose “forks over knives,” to borrow a phrase from the documentary and cookbook franchise of the same name, I want something that requires me to use both utensils for a change.

When I came home with the first eggplant of the season from the farmers market recently, I knew it would satisfy my recent hankering.

I’ve steamed eggplant slices to luxurious tenderness and paired them with an Asian-style sauce. I’ve roasted or grilled eggplant whole until it collapsed and used it, of course, for baba ghanouj, soups and other pureed treatments. But I had never treated it like a schnitzel, that pounded and breaded meat cutlet usually involving veal or chicken, until I saw a tempting recipe in Maria Elia’s “The Modern Vegetarian” (Kyle, 2009).

Elia enlivens the breading with Mediterranean touches such as mint, parsley, lemon zest and sumac, that tart Middle Eastern spice. Other than ducking her call for fresh bread crumbs and relying instead on store-bought panko-style bread crumbs, I followed her instructions to the letter.

I was a little skeptical that the thick slices would get tender enough by the time their exterior turned brown. But any fears were soon put to rest.

The slabs started to puff underneath the coating as they fried, the steam indicating that the vegetable was cooking pretty quickly on the inside.

I let them drain, sprinkled them with a little more sumac and draped them over some tabbouleh.

I picked up the knife, and guess what? The eggplant was so tender I didn’t really need it. But I used it anyway.

Sumac-Spiced Eggplant ‘Schnitzel’

4 servings

Adapted from “The Modern Vegetarian,” by Maria Elia, 2009).

1 large eggplant (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds)

1 cup unseasoned panko-style bread crumbs

2 tablespoons ground sumac

1 tablespoon finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon whole or low-fat milk

1/4 cup flour

Olive oil, for frying

Trim off and discard the eggplant’s stem, and cut the eggplant lengthwise into 3/4 -inch-thick slices.

Combine the bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon of the sumac, the cheese, mint, parsley, lemon zest, salt and a few grinds of pepper, spreading the mixture in a shallow bowl or plate.

Whisk the eggs and milk together in a separate shallow bowl or plate. Place the flour in a third bowl or plate. Dust the eggplant slices with flour, dip them in the egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumb mixture, using all of the latter.

Line a plate with several layers of paper towels.

Pour the oil to a depth of 1/2 inch in a large skillet set over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding; fry the eggplant for about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown outside and tender inside. (Make sure it is frying relatively slowly so the inside isn’t still too firm by the time the outside is browned.)

Use a slotted spatula to transfer the eggplant slices to the paper-lined plate. Season with salt and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sumac.

Per serving (using whole milk): 220 calories, 7 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 105 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 6 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar