Baked Eggplant Fries with Goat Cheese Dip (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free)

Slender strips of eggplant are coated in a spicy mix and baked until deliciously golden and creamy on the inside and served with a tangy goat cheese dip.

Like beets, people have strong opinions about eggplant.

I think of eggplants as the gluttons of the vegetable world, greedily soaking up every drop of oil or fat they come in contact with and demanding more.  If you’ve ever tried to fry it I’m sure you know the game; you start with a generous amount of fat, but the pan is mysteriously dry within seconds, leaving you with little option other than dousing the whole thing in an oil slick or having dry, burnt eggplant.

It’s this insatiable appetite that makes so many traditional eggplant recipes heavy.  Well cooked eggplant, on the other hand, can be wonderful and worth the effort.

Although a member of the nightshade family along with tomatoes and potatoes, it’s quite unlike any other vegetable with its taunt, shiny skin hiding a spongy and often seedy interior.  While the large dark purple globe is the most familiar variety (and plagued with a reputation for bitterness and seediness), it comes in a range of colors and shapes from small round ones, to long slender Japanese varieties and even white and green ones.

Regardless of which you choose, eggplant fries are my answer to the oil dilemma. I’m not talking deep-fried fries, with inches of scalding hot oil, but an oven-baked version served with a tangy goat cheese dip on the side.

Making eggplant “fries” is really mainly an assembly job.  Cut into thin lengths they get a double coating of almond flour with brief dip in a spicy egg mixture.  The heat of the oven transforms the eggplant and the fries emerge lightly golden with deliciously creamy insides.

Cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper gives the fries a bit of heat which is tempered by the cool, slightly tart goat cheese dip on the side.  Serve them hot, straight from the oven as a starter or with drinks.

Have you ever made eggplant fries?  How do you like to make eggplant?

Serves Serves about 2-4 as an appetizer.

Baked Eggplant Fries with Goat Cheese Dip Recipe (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free)

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Slender strips of eggplant are coated in a spicy mix and baked until deliciously golden and creamy on the inside and served with a tangy goat cheese dip.

25 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the Eggplant Fries:
• 1 medium or 2 small eggplants (preferably the less bitter Japanese variety)
• 2 Tablespoons/16g arrowroot flour
• 1 cup/112g almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1 Tablespoon of organic coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large egg
For the Goat Cheese Dipping Sauce:
• 4 ounces/113g goat cheese
• 1/4 cup/ 60ml goat milk or goat milk kefir (or regular milk if you can’t find goat milk)
• the juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Make the Goat Cheese Dip:
1. Blend goat cheese, milk, lemon juice, salt, and a pinch of pepper in a food processor until smooth and creamy.
2. Transfer dip to a serving bowl. Serve with baked eggplant fries.
3. Dip can be made ahead and refrigerated, bring to room temperature before serving.
Make the Eggplant Fries:
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper .
5. Cut the eggplant in half then into thin slices lengthwise and cut those into batons about the size of French fries.
6. Stir together the arrowroot flour almond flour and salt and divide evenly onto two shallow plates.
7. In a separate bowl whisk together the coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper with the coconut oil and egg.
8. Roll the eggplant fries into the into the almond flour mixture on the first plate, then quickly dip into the egg mixture and then into the second plate of almond flour.
9. Place the eggplant fries evenly onto the baking sheet and sprinkle with an extra pinch of sea salt.
10. Bake for 15 to-20 minutes(depending on how think your fries are) or until crispy and browned. Serve with goat cheese dipping sauce.

Notes

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegetarian

7.8.1.2

102

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Sylvie

Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she’s been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.