E is for Eggplant Fries

When I first spotted this recipe in Vegan Comfort Food, it immediately brought to mind the Baked Zucchini Sticks I got hooked on last summer. Sadly, I did not plant zucchini in my garden this year, and thus spent the summer mostly vegetable fry-less.

Enter: Alicia Simpson and her amazing Eggplant Fries. These babies are coated in a mix of white flour, Old Bay seasoning, and black pepper and oven-baked to crispy (on the outside)-soft (on the inside) perfection. One problem I had with the Zucchini Sticks was getting the batter to stick – but the finer granules in this batter made the whole issue moot. It sticks like gangbusters! Still, I bet a little nooch would take them to the next level.

At first I worried that I’d cut some of the fries too thick, but it just so happened that these were my favorites of the bunch. The eggplant dries out a bit as it bakes, and the thinnest fries shriveled up to almost nothing. The fat ones, on the other hand, were just about perfect…meaty like steak fries, but way healthier.

I couldn’t decide between photographing these in a diner-style french fry basket (classic!) or on my Halloween kid’s plate (it’s purple, like eggplants!), so I did both. Which one works better, do you think?