Tomato and eggplant salad

If you like fried eggplant here is an idea for a salad you might love. Start with a bed of greens, top with fried eggplant slices, add chopped tomatoes and basil and finish with a little olive oil and white balsamic.

Ingredients: (Serves four):

2 Medium Eggplant

2 Eggs

1 TBSP Milk

Italian Bread Crumbs

Salt and Pepper

Box of Spring Greens 

Tomatoes (I used Cherry Tomatoes)

15-20 Fresh Basil Leaves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

White Balsamic Vinegar

Preparation:

Cut off the top and bottom of the eggplant so that they will stand upright. Remove skin from eggplant using a sharp knife. (You can leave the skin on if desired.  I prefer taking it off.) Lay eggplant on it's side and slice into 1/4" thick slices. Crack eggs into a shallow flat dish and whisk with the milk. Put about 1/2 Cup Italian bread crumbs into another shallow flat dish. Dip eggplant slices into the milk and egg mixture and then into the Italian bread crumbs to coat. Salt and pepper both sides of each slice. Put 3-4 TBSP of the olive oil in a large skillet over med. high heat. 

 Saute the eggplant until tender and golden brown on each side.

Lay eggplant on paper towels to absorb some of the oil. You will need three to five slices of fried eggplant per person depending on the size of the eggplant slices. 

Cut tomatoes into small bite sized pieces. I used cherry tomatoes and cut each one into four pieces. Chiffonade the basil.  

To assemble the salads put a handful of the spring green mix on each plate. Top with fried eggplant slices and then the tomatoes. Spread ribbons of basil on tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and dress with 2 parts Olive Oil and one part White Balsamic. You can use regular balsamic if you don't have white. You can also add small pieces of fresh mozzarella to the salad if desired.