Alyssa Ponticello // In Good Taste

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Sesame Eggplant Recipe

runwaychef

I've always been a fan of eggplant. That is, if it was breaded, fried, covered in cheese, smothered in sauce and served on a bed of pasta. I mean, really though....is there any other way to eat eggplant?! Believe it or not, I seemed to have found one, and it's not a flavorless pile of mush. This sesame eggplant recipe is everything you've ever hoped to find at the end of a sliced up eggplant. Crispy, perfectly golden little crescent moons of eggplant, infused with not one, not two, but three types of sesame flavor, kicked up a notch with a sprinkling of chopped scallions and served as a perfectly healthy and flavorful side dish (or snack, or lunch, or dinner). It's so good that I literally made and ate an entire tray all by my lonesome, and I wasn't mad about it one bit. In fact, I could have eaten a whole other tray. Just to clarify, a whole other tray of this sesame eggplant recipe, not a tray of cookies. I knoooooow. Madness, right?! Watch out eggplant parm....you might have just been replaced!

Are you a fan of eggplant? How do you like to eat it?

P.S. I kind of lied...there is another yummy (and healthy) way to eat eggplant! Actually two ways, but who's counting?!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt (amount depends on your flavor preferences)
  • 1-2 tablespoons tahini
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • 2-4 scallions (totally depends on how many you want), chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Slice the eggplant first into approximately 1/8" slices, then slice those rounds into halves. Lay them out in a single layer onto an unlined and ungreased baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt. Pop them in the oven for 10 minutes.

  3. After 10 minutes, use tongs or a spatula to flip the slices over. Continue baking for another 5-10 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

  4. Remove from the oven. Drizzle with the tahini, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, and finish with the scallions. Serve immediately.

  5. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.