This Spanish-Style Fried Eggplant with Romesco Sauce is what simple and delicious food is all about. We’re talking basic pantry staples, a ton of great flavors and done in a little over 30 minutes. Serve this dish as a tapas appetizer or even as a side dish. Either way, with its presentation, it will steal the show.
To make the romesco sauce, I used a hand blender. But you can also use a food processor, stand up blender or even a nutribullet. If you see your romesco sauce is too thick, just add in some more olive oil or even a little water.
The secret to this recipe is to salt the slices of eggplant and let them sit for about 15 minutes before cooking. This will extract some of the water in the slices of eggplant. That way when you cook them, they won’t be mushy and will keep their beautiful firm texture.
TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: You can make the romesco sauce ahead of time. It will for up to 3 to 4 days in the fridge. This dish can be served warm, at room temperature or even chilled.
Key Ingredients & Cookware I used in this Recipe:
MY COOKWARE
MY CHEF´S KNIFE
EXTRA VIRGIN SPANISH OLIVE OIL
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Watch the Video Below on How to Make Spanish-Style Fried Eggplant with Romesco Sauce
Spanish-Style Fried Eggplant with Romesco Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 120 ml
- 1 large eggplant
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour 30 grams
- 2 cage-free organic eggs
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 4 grams
- 8 raw hazelnuts
- 8 raw blanched almonds
- 5 jarred roasted red bell peppers
- 1/4 cup canned tomato paste 60 grams
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar 5 ml
- handful arugula
- sea salt & black pepper
Instructions
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Cut the eggplant into slices that are 1 cm thick (a little over a 1/4 inch), then place them over a wire rack with some paper towels underneath, all in a single layer, season with sea salt on both sides
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In the meantime, heat a fry pan with a medium heat and add in the raw hazelnuts and raw blanched almonds, mix continuously, after 4 minutes and the nuts are lightly toasted, remove from the pan and set aside
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Add the jarred roasted red bell peppers into a tall plastic cylinder, along with the canned tomato paste, clove of garlic, the toasted hazelnuts and almonds, red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil, then season with sea salt & black pepper, using a hand blender, puree the ingredients until you end up with a thick and creamy sauce, set aside
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Heat a large fry pan with a medium heat and add in 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
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Meanwhile, move back to the slices of eggplant, after letting them sit for about 15 minutes and some of the water in the eggplant has been extracted, transfer them over some paper towels, in a single layer, and pat completely dry
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Crack the eggs into a bowl, add in the parsley and season with sea salt & black pepper, whisk together, add the flour into a separate bowl
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Coat each slice of eggplant, first in the flour and then into the egg wash, add the slices into the hot fry pan, all in a single layer, cook in batches, fry for 3 minutes per side or until golden fried all around, transfer into a dish with paper towels
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To assemble the dish, place a couple slices of the fried eggplant over a dish, top each one off with some of the romesco sauce, place another slice of eggplant over the sauce, then top off again with some of the sauce, add another slice of eggplant over the sauce and garnish with fresh arugula, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Get the Spanish Olive Oil I used to make this Recipe
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Jim
17 . Mar . 2024Made this tonight as the appetizer for a meal of Spain on a Fork dishes. It was amazingly good! After our dinner guest left, my husband treated himself to the leftover eggplant and sauce.
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that!!! Much love 🙂
17 . Mar . 2024