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Egg Plant (Peel and cut in slices)
Peel and cut in slices the purple kind, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and let drain on a tipped plate for three-quarters of an hour; make a light batter with one egg, flour and a little water, dip the slices into it and fry in butter or lard. Eggs and cracker may be used instead of the batter. Or, peel the egg-plant, boil till done, then pour off the water, mash fine, and pepper, butter and salt to taste, put in a shallow pudding-pan, and over the top place a thick layer of crushed cracker. Bake half an hour in a moderate oven.
Two methods in one entry: batter-fried slices, and a mashed, cracker-topped bake. Both are sound, and the salting step at the start is the part that matters.
- The salting is the hingeThree-quarters of an hour on a tipped plate draws out water and collapses the spongy cells, so the slices absorb far less fat and hold their shape. Blot them dry before battering, or the coating will slide off.
- "The purple kind"Nineteenth-century seed catalogues also listed white and striped eggplants alongside the large purple sorts. Modern globe eggplant is generally less bitter than older varieties, though the salting is still worth doing for texture.
- A light batter, measuredA light batter -- The recipe gives no measures beyond one egg, flour and "a little water." As a starting point, try about 1/2 cup flour and 3-4 tablespoons water per egg, and adjust: aim for the consistency of heavy cream, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, thin enough to drip.
- "Eggs and cracker"The alternative is a standard breading: beaten egg, then fine cracker crumbs. Saltines or plain soda crackers are the closest thing to the period product; panko is too coarse for this.
- Frying fat and heatButter alone will brown before the slices cook through. Lard, as the recipe allows, or butter cut with a neutral oil, will take the heat better. Keep the fat moderately hot and give the slices room rather than crowding the pan.
- Moderate ovenFor the baked version, 350F for the half hour stated. The purée is already cooked, so the time is only there to set it and crisp the cracker layer.
- Draining the boiled eggplantBoiled eggplant holds a great deal of water. Press it in a colander before mashing, or the pudding-pan version will be soupy under its crust.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantities. One large eggplant, roughly 1 1/4 lb, will serve about three or four either way.
The name comes from early European varieties that were small, white and genuinely egg-shaped; by the time this book was printed, American gardeners had settled on the large purple fruit, which the recipe calls for in the instruction to choose "the purple kind." Two methods are given here: dip and fry, or boil, mash and gratinate under crushed cracker.