Breaded Eggplant Cutlets. Cotolette di Melanzane

These eggplants cutlets check all your boxes: fast, delicious and easy.

Did I mention that kids love it? There is more: you can bake or fry them. Oh, I forgot: these eggplant cutlets are terrific eaten warm, but cold are OMG. 

You can use these eggplant schnitzels as a sandwich: just throw a slice of tomato and mozzarella, and you’ll win the prize for the best office lunch ever. Or plop some tomato sauce on top of your cotolette, cover with a spoon of Parmigiano and finish with basil leave on top, reheat in the oven for 5 mins, and you’ll get the crown for best mom/pop of the year. 

If you want to impress your date with a special dinner, just add burrata on top of your out-of-the-oven (v)eggplant cutlets and few drops of Aceto Balsamico di Modena. I am sitting here waiting for your call: “Thank you, Dani! We are getting married.” You are very welcome.

It’s also perfect for your NO MEAT MONDAY! For my not Americans fellows: in Usa there is this funny trend to give every day of the week a food theme. We have No Meat Monday, Taco Tuesday, Whatever Wednesday, Pasta Thursday, Stir Fry Saturday and Take Out Sunday. 
A sort of our Giovedì Gnocchi and Venerdi Pesce but they went forward.

Let’s go back to our #nomeatbutmeaty eggplant cutlets.

The original recipe is obviously Sicilian and is obviously fried. I developed a baked version, and with some tricks, you cannot taste the difference (almost). 

Food Culture Note: just like Caponata, the genesis of these eggplants cutlets comes from people in Sicily who couldn’t afford costly meat and came up with delicious dishes disguising cheap ingredients.

Note: there is no flour in these eggplant cutlets, and if you use glutenfree breadcrumbs is glutenfree friendly. I tried it, and they turned out great.

Ingredients:

for 4 people

• 2 big round eggplants (2 pounds, more or less) cut into 1/2 – inch. (I got 22 slices)
• 300 gr of breadcrumbs
• 4 or 5 large eggs
• Salt and pepper
• Extra- virgin olive oil if you make the baked version
• Frying oil with a neutral taste if you make the baked version

A quick note about the baked version: I strongly recommend a spray version of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. (I like the one no-propellant and eco-friendly from Trader’s Joe but I want to buy the William Sonoma Stainless-Steel Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Sprayer to reduce waste, packaging, and plastics). You will end up using less oil, it will cover more evenly the surface of the cutlets and they will turn out crispier.

Instructions:

If you choose the baked version turn on your oven at 400°F/200C and spray the baking sheet generously with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For both baked and fried version the eggplants cutlets are made in the same way:

• Prepare two shallow bowls
• Beat the eggs seasoned with salt and pepper in a bowl and the put the breadcrumbs in the other one.
• Submerge each slice of eggplant in the eggs and shake off any excess.
• Transfer to the bowl with breadcrumbs and press firmly until coated.
• Repeat the two steps with the remaining eggplant slices.

If you prefer the fried version: heat a couple of inches of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When ready, add eggplant schnitzels in one layer, without crowding, and fry until golden. Turn the slices to cook the other side. Then transfer on paper towels.

If you go for the baked version: place the breaded eggplant cutlets in one layer on the baking sheet previously sprayed with oil, without crowding. Spray evenly also the top of the cutlets. If you don’t have spray oil use the normal bottle and drizzle over the breaded slices.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes turning once after 15 min.

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