Tomato and mozzarella salad with crumbed eggplant

Babiche Martens

At this time of year, we simply can’t go past the beautiful array of fragrant and flavoursome tomatoes in gardens and markets. They are simply magnificent, in all shapes, sizes and colours. In my garden, the eggplants haven’t been so abundant. I only had one, so here it is — coated with egg and breadcrumbs, then fried with a crispy coating. This is perfect combined with tomatoes, soft white mozzarella and basil. The weeds can wait!

Ingredients

1	Eggplant, sliced into 1 cm rounds (Main)
2	Eggs, lightly whisked and seasoned
1 cup	Breadcrumbs
¼ cup	Chopped fresh herbs, e.g. parsley or chives
1 bottle	Oil, enough for cooking eggplant
2 cups	Tomatoes, sliced or chopped (Main)
2 whole	Mozzarella cheese (Main)
1 cup	Basil leaves
1 drizzle	Lemon-infused olive oil, to serve

Directions

1. Firstly crumb the eggplant. Dip into seasoned egg, then roll into the breadcrumbs and parsley combined in another bowl. Set aside in the fridge until ready to cook.
2. Into a frying pan pour a little oil. Fry the eggplant on a medium heat to ensure they cook right through, turning once to brown both sides.
3. Onto a platter place the eggplant, tomatoes, torn mozzarella, basil and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the lemon infused olive oil then serve.