The Sicilian art of frying eggplants
We all know, in Sicily we are practically obsessed with 2 things: eggplant and frying. And the two go perfectly hand in hand, don’t you think? Melanzane are delicious in any way you cook them: grilled, ammuttunate, baked, in oil. But the absolute best way, the apotheosis of eggplant is absolutely fried! You will say, frying eggplants, what is so difficult about it, in the end it is just cutting an eggplant and throwing it in hot oil, right?
Nothing more wrong. The making of Milinciani Fritti in Sicily is a true art, a ritual that must be followed meticulously to release all the qualities of the eggplant and that requires a secret ingredient.
Frying eggplants in Sicily
It would be wrong to say that at the base of frying eggplants there is a rather complex preparation, in reality, it is a rather simple process, however, it must follow precise rules. The journey to the perfect fried eggplant begins with selecting the raw material. So which eggplant to choose and based on what? If you need to cook pasta alla norma (or any other pasta with eggplant), or caponata, parmigiana or involtini, then you want to go for an eggplant with dark skin. This type of eggplant has a very firm and durable texture, which makes it perfect for the recipes we mentioned. Round eggplants (also called “Melanzane Tunisine”) and with a lighter color, have a more delicate pulp, and that is why they are often used as cutlets, properly breaded in order to prevent them from falling apart during cooking.
Now let’s get into the kitchen, and see how to get the most out of our eggplants. One of the most important things is salting the eggplant. Cut the eggplant to your liking and place a first layer in a colander and salt. Add more eggplant and salt again, until you run out. At this point, cover the eggplants with a plate and if you can, add some weight on top in order to “squeeze” the eggplants during the resting time. Leave them to drain for about two hours!
At this point, take a nice deep-bottomed skillet and add some peanut oil – the eggplant needs to float in the oil during frying, so be generous with the amounts, but don’t overdo it! Heat the oil to 180 °C ( 356 °F ), and carefully place the eggplant in the pan. The perfect colour of the classic fried eggplant is gold with dark streaks, so be careful to turn them while cooking. Once they are ready, remember not to let them absorb too much oil, so drain them with a skimmer and place them on a plate with kitchen paper.
Now you are ready to enjoy your wonderful “Milinciane fritte”. What? Did we forget to mention the secret ingredient for frying eggplants and reach perfection?
You are right, our secret ingredient is… the love for Sicilian food!
I am not particularly fond of eggplant. But the only way I can eat it is thinly sliced and fried in olive oil. It’s not so much the flavor of the eggplant, it’s the texture. And by the way, here in the USA we can purchase white-skin eggplant called Sicilian eggplant; are these small white eggplant really Sicilian?
I get you, my brother is exactly the same! But fried eggplants really make everyone happy, even just by simply put them in a fresh bun. In regards to the white eggplants, it’s not like they are typically Sicilian, but it’s quite common to find them; for sure it’s the only place (maybe alongside Puglia) where you can find them! They’re very good for frying.
any eggplant is good for making pizza
The article does not mention that you must rinse the eggplant to get rid of the salt, then squeeze all the water out before frying. Eggplants are spongy, by salting them one gets rid of the bitterness, but they must be rinsed, then place them on a cloth and press the water out.
Absolutely!!