For their first stay at Kerbeleg, Edouard and Charlotte treated us to these breaded aubergine cutlets with a spreadable lemon confit hummus and vegetarian fallafel.
A real delight in the kitchen!
Ingredients
Schnitzels for 4 people :
- 2 aubergines
- 1 or 2 eggs
- Flour (wheat or buckwheat)
- Smoked paprika (or other spice such as cumin, depending on taste)
- Breadcrumbs
- Butter
- Sage
- Lemon
FALLAFELS
- 400g cooked chickpeas
- 100g cooked “Al dente” quinoa
- One shallot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- A bunch of coriander, leaves removed
- A bunch of finely chopped chives
- One egg
- Salt and pepper
- A teaspoon of cumin
- Olive oil
- A courgette, not too large, grated
SAUCE - A small pot of semi-thick crème fraîche
- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (depending on taste)
- A dash of olive oil
- Half a lemon juice
Recipe
Schnitzels:
- Cut the aubergines in 2 lengthways without peeling them. Put them in the oven at 180°C for 20-30 minutes. The aim is to precook them and dry out the flesh a little.
- Peel the aubergines, keeping the green ends, then mash with a fork to flatten the flesh like a cutlet.
- If necessary, blot the prepared aubergines between two sheets of kitchen paper to remove as much water as possible.
- On a plate, mix a few tablespoons of flour with the spice of your choice and soak both sides of the aubergines in this mixture.
- Dip both sides of the aubergines in the beaten egg before covering with breadcrumbs.
- Once breaded, fry the aubergines in a pan. The simplest option is to use a sufficient quantity of sunflower oil to obtain a deep-fry effect, and to monitor the cooking to obtain a beautiful golden colour. If necessary, blot on kitchen paper to remove excess fat.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon in the same way as for traditional frying.
- Cooking variation: Melt a large knob of butter with a few fresh sage leaves, adding a dash of oil to prevent the butter turning black too quickly. Brown the aubergines in the resulting mixture.
Fallafels & Sauce:
- Mash the chickpeas like hummus to obtain a paste. Add the egg, a tablespoon of olive oil and the spices.
- Mix all the ingredients together by hand in a bowl to make the paste as smooth as possible.
- Using two tablespoons, form small quenelles and place in a hot frying pan with a little oil. Brown on all sides
- Mix the ingredients for the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can add a tablespoon of mustard to spice things up a little.
