This crispy eggplant cutlets recipe will be your new fav!

I’ve always loved eggplant cutlets. My mom used to cook this crispy cutlets as a treat when round purple eggplants were in season. The thing I love the most is that they’re very crispy on the outside, but super tender and soft on the inside. They are great freshly made but I always loved to eat them cold straight out of the fridge too. You can use the cutlets for lunch boxes, for a picnic, to make sandwiches.

The best eggplants to make cutlets

Summer is eggplant season, and there are a tons of variety available. Every one is good to make cutlets but the best are the round purple. The flesh of those aubergines si slightly different from the darker or the slender ones, that are more suitable for other recipes. When eggplants are perfectly ripen, they won’t contain too many seeds. The more you keep them in the fridge the more seeds you’ll find. Anyway, even if they have lots of seeds, the taste won’t change.

You can make this recipe with the classic large violet aubergines  you find everywhere in the world. However those, in my opinion, are best to make grilled or marinated eggplant. Or you can use them to make pesto or eggplants patties.

The round purple eggplants are slightly sweeter and just a bit less sour, the flesh is usually more compact and when cooked it’s moist and soft.
Ultimately, it does not matter the type of eggplant you decide to use, all are very nutritious and tasty!

Eggplant cutlets: Variations and tips

This recipe is great if you want to eat more vegetables and do not know where to start. If you love cutlets (who doesn’t?) this recipe is for you. No matter if you are vegan, vegetarian or suffer from celiac disease, there are several ways you can enjoy this recipe without the need to sacrifice the flavor. Let’s see together the many variations you can try:

• Vegan: to make this recipe vegan is very simple. You’ll only need to swap the egg for a flour slurry. The eggplant slices can be coated with a mix of water and flour before been dipped in the breadcrumbs. It’s easy and the result won’t change. Actually I use this technique a lot even when making meat cutlet, to avoid using too many different animal protein. And the exterior comes out even crunchier.
• Gluten free: making this recipe gluten free is the easiest variation. You can use the gluten free bread crumbs you can buy in the supermarket, or you can use a mix of polenta flour and rolled oats. I usually prepare this recipe with this mix, this way I’ll add the benefits of corn and oats and get a crispier outside. Just whizz the oats in the blender and add the corn flour (not starch).
• Herby cutlets: I usually add oregano to the crumbs but you can try whatever you like best. Rosemary is also great, but you can use a mix of herbs to make it even tastier

You can serve these cutlets with a simple salad and some mayonnaise. Try also making a super eggplant sandwich: use a burger bun, add a cutlet some mozzarella and some salad.

Ingredients for 4 servings

• 2/3 large round purple eggplants
• 2cups of breadcrumbs (around 150/200gr)
• 1 large egg
• 2tbs of flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• oregano
• oil to fry: you can  use extra virgin olive oil or avocado or sunflower oil. If you can find it, hazelnut oil is great too.

Gluten free: swap breadcrumbs for corn flour and ground rolled oats
Vegan version: swap the egg for a slurry made with water 100ml of water and around 2 or 3 tbs flour

How to prepare Italian eggplant cutlets

Step 1
Wash the eggplants and remove the stem. Cut them into 5mm thick slices. For a better result, and if you have some spare time, put the slices on to a rack and sprinkle some salt to remove some of the water from the eggplant. This is absolutely optional,  but makes it a bit easier to fry the eggplants (I almost never do this).

Sprinkle the eggplant slices with the flour. This will prevent the egg from slipping away.

Step 2
Prepare two dishes: 1 with the beaten egg and the other with the breadcrumbs. Add salt, pepper and oregano to the breadcrumbs.

Step 3
Dip the slices in the egg (drain the excess to avoid lumps) and then put them in the crumbs and cover well. Set aside on another dish.

VEGAN VERSION: Make a slurry with the water and flour and dip the eggplants in the slurry instead of the beaten egg.

Step 4
Put a large pan on medium heat with a couple of tablespoon of oil. When it’s hot, start frying the eggplants. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until they become golden and crispy. Drain and let it cool on a wire rack covered with some paper towel. Sprinkle with some salt.
When the first batch is done, check if you need to add some oil, then start again until all the cutlets are cooked.

Serve hot (I actually love them cold too) with a simple salad. You could actually use these cutlets to make your vegetarian burger.