Vegan Fried Eggplant Topped with Eggplant, Green Olive and Caper Caponata

My Vegan Eggplant, Green Olive and Caper Caponata turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving. I was able not only to serve it as an appetizer for dinner guests, but later as a pasta sauce and still later as a sauce for fried eggplant.

I don't fry a lot--and when I do it is with the stove fan in overdrive (I don't like that "aroma" hanging around)--but I do love the occasional fried food, especially when the whole dish is reasonably healthful.

Here are directions for breading and frying just about anything the vegan way (no egg needed!):

1/4 inch vegetable oil (olive oil will burn at high temps)
A little flour, all-purpose, whole wheat or a combination, seasoned with coarse sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (plus any optional spice you choose), placed in a shallow bowl
A little soymilk, unsweetened is best, placed in a shallow bowl some Panko breadcrumbs (or your favorite crumbs), also placed in a shallow bowl
Vegetable or whatever to be fried, sliced to about 1/3 inch thick (if thicker, oil should be deeper)

Preheat oven to warm. In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat oil until one drop of water splatters; avoid letting oil it smoke. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with paper towels. Coat food to be fried by dipping and turning once in flour, then in the soymilk, followed by the breadcrumbs (or just more seasoned flour). Use one hand in the dry ingredients and one hand in the wet to avoid a gloppy mess. As you bread each piece, either lay it on the baking sheet or directly into the oil if it has reached the correct temperature. Avoid over-crowding the skillet, as the temperature of the oil will drop. Fry 2-3 minutes on one side or until golden-brown, gently flip, and do the same on the reverse, making sure the item is cooked/heated through. Using a slotted spatula, remove pieces to the baking sheet to drain, and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. Top as desired.

For the dish pictured, I sliced a white eggplant lengthwise about 1/3 of an inch thick and topped it with some of my Vegan Eggplant, Green Olive and Caper Caponata, heated. If you fear that your eggplant may be bitter, you can slice it, lightly salt it, and let it rest between pieces of paper towel. Rinse and dry before preceding with your recipe.