OVEN FRIED EGGPLANT

Before tonight, I had only tried eggplant once. It was an eggplant parmesan dish. It was OK, but I don't think it really gave me a taste of the main ingredient, eggplant. I have been trying to incorporate new foods, especially veggies, into our diet. There are SO many out there that we don't use. I found this recipe for oven fried eggplant and thought it sounded pretty tasty, so tried it out on my family tonight. It was really good and very savory. You can really taste the Parmesan, so if you are kind of so-so with Parm, you may want to only put half the amount called for. We had ours with grilled chicken, but it really would be outstanding alongside a pasta dish with tomato sauce. This recipe originally appeared in "Cooking Light" magazine. This is a non-tradational way to prepare eggplant, but it really cuts the fat and calories (Cal: 122. Fat: 3.9 g). I'll definitely be making this one again.


OVEN FRIED EGGPLANT

Yeild: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 lb unpeeled eggplant, sliced (about 12 1/2 inch slices)
• 1/3 cup fine dry breadcrumb
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• vegetable oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Combine first 2 ingredients, stir well.

2. Spread evenly over both sides of eggplant slices.

3. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a shallow bowl; dredge eggplant in breadcrumbs mixture.

4. Place eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

5. Bake@ 425 degrees for 12 minutes.

6. Turn eggplant over; and bake an additional 12 minutes or until golden.