Eggplant with MInt

This eggplant dish is perfect as an antipasto, party food, a summer side dish or to take on a picnic. All the flavors work well together - garlic, mint, a bit of vinegar for tartness and of course the earthiness of the eggplant. Easy to make a looks cool on a serving plate. Here's how you do it - 

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant 

Oil for frying (all olive oil or 2/3 olive oil/ 1/3 canola oil)

2 cloves of garlic chopped

10 fresh mint leaves chopped

White wine vinegar

Thinly sliced hot chili to taste

3 - 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 tbsp coarse breadcrumbs

Kosher salt

Process: 

Peel a little of the skin off the eggplant and cut the eggplant lengthwise into pieces about 3“x 1”.
Put the pieces in a colander and sprinkle with Kosher salt

Let them sit in the colander for about half an hour.

Wash off the salt and dry the eggplant pieces on paper towels.

Fry the eggplant pieces in about ¼ inch of oil until browned. Don’t crowd the pan – fry in batches. 

Let drain on paper towels, then put on a serving plate

In a bowl, mix the extra virgin olive oil and the garlic together and drizzle over the eggplant pieces.

Sprinkle the mint, chili, white wine vinegar, a little salt and bread crumbs over the eggplant.

Serve at room temperature.