Italian Sautéed Eggplant

Italian Sautéed Eggplant

Eggplant is one of those foods I ate growing up that only I ate; my family never really ate it. My mom used to make if for me by slicing it, seasoning it, and baking it. A very delicious, easy dinner. But, because I was the only one that ever really ate it in my family, it always felt like a “PKU” food to me. As I’ve gotten older though, I know that a lot of people actually enjoy it, and they’re the ones missing out not me.

By the time I was in high school, I was definitely experimenting a bit with foods just trying to find new ways of eating the same foods. This Italian Sautéed Eggplant is one of those creations I came up with during that time period. I think my original inspiration was lasagna, so kind of similar to eggplant parmesan. But I remember being fixated on cooking it in a frying pan. So the basics of this recipe came down to eggplant, sauce, cheese, and seasonings.

The first time I cooked this meal I used Cambrooke’s cheddar shreds. Now, I use the So Delicious brand of cheese. So Delicious cheese melts a lot better than the Cambrooke cheese, so it just gives it a creamier texture, but Cambrooke works just as well. One thing I do love about this recipe though is that it makes enough where I always have leftovers, and this is one of those recipes that reheats very well!

One of the important steps for preparing this is to let the eggplant sit on paper towels to get rid of the excess moisture. Eggplant has a lot moisture in it, and by letting it sit on some paper towels and cover it with salt, you’ll draw out some of that moisture. You will also notice that the eggplant is super absorbent. When you put it into the cooking oil, the eggplant will absorb most of the oil right away. I try not to use to much right away let the eggplant cook for a minute or so and then add some more cooking oil to prevent it from adding the oil every time I add some to the pan.

I hope you guys like my latest concoction! Let me know what else you’d like to see made with eggplant in the comments below or on my Instagram ~ @perfectlypku. Enjoy!

Italian Sautéed Eggplant

Ingredients:

1 small/medium eggplant (270g)

¼ cup So Delicious cheddar jack

¼ cup So Delicious mozzarella

1 cup tomato sauce (215g)

½ tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

½ tsp. thyme

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Cooking oil

Servings per recipe: 4

Serving size: ¼ cup

Phe per serving: 61mg

Directions:

1. Slice eggplant into ¼ inch slices. Set slices on paper towel and salt them. Let sit for 10 minutes. Flip eggplant and repeat on other side.

2. Cut eggplant into dice sized pieces. 

3. Heat some cooking oil to a frying pan. Once hot add the eggplant. Let cook for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. (Because of how absorbent eggplant is, you may want to add a little more cooking oil).

4. Add the tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir together. Add the cheese and stir together.

5. Let cook for another 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently.

6. Serve and enjoy!