Salad with Crispy Eggplant

This salad with crispy eggplant is the kind of dish that turns a simple weeknight dinner into something special. Golden, crunchy eggplant chunks are piled over juicy tomatoes with salty feta and loads of fresh cilantro, then finished with olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic cream. If you love vibrant vegetable salads like our warm eggplant and mozzarella salad or this crunchy cabbage cucumber salad, this one belongs on your table.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 tomatoes
• Feta cheese, to taste
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• Olive oil, for frying and dressing
• Balsamic cream, to taste

Instructions

1. Cut the eggplant into large chunks, dust with cornstarch, shake off the excess, and fry in plenty of oil until golden and crispy.
2. Chop the tomatoes coarsely into a salad bowl; top with the eggplant, feta, and roughly chopped cilantro.
3. Season with salt and dress with olive oil and balsamic cream.

Tips

Dust the eggplant lightly — a thin coating of cornstarch is all you need for maximum crunch, and don’t crowd the pan so the pieces crisp instead of steaming. Assemble the salad just before serving so the eggplant stays crispy, and try our roasted eggplant vegetable salad next time. Curious about eggplant nutrition? The USDA food database is a handy reference.

Nutrition (per 100 g): 85 kcal, protein 3 g, fat 6 g, carbs 4 g.