Curtis Stone - Deep Fried Aubergine And Mozzarella With Basil

I know you would think that I am obsessed with Curtis Stone since I have been talking non-stop of his great recipes the last few days. But the truth is I am obsessed with his style of cooking. Very creative, very adventurous  and a very gorgeous young chef .This is one simple and yet delicious snack or canapé from his book that has captivated my attention since the book arrived and last night I made them ...thus satiated my craving and stop the salivating. I get to savor the real thing instead of savoring the virtual ones :p 

I have been cooking aubergine for the last few decades and this is the first time that ingredients like mozzarella and basil  were used to complement aubergine. It was a great match ,the crispy-ness on the outside and the moist and gooey cheese from the inside was enough to send me to heaven and back. Truly a fabulous way to cook aubergine and I was not wrong for once, what my eyes feasted on turned out great. Of course appearance wise,  his creation looks better than mine :) but taste wise mine should be the equally as good as his * wink

this can be served as a snack or as a canapé

Deep Fried Aubergine And Mozzarella With Basil - adapted from Cooking With Curtis

Ingredients:

1 aubergine

2 tbsp salt

1 ball buffalo mozzarella, drained

8 fresh basil leaves 

100 g plain flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

150 g  fresh breadcrumbs 

1 litre vegetable oil for deep frying

Method for the aubergine :

Slice the aubergine thinly into 16 rounds and lay on a baking tray. Sprinkle the salt over the aubergines and leave to stand for 10 minutes to extract the bitter juices then rinse under cold running water and pat dry with kitchen paper. 

Slice the mozzarella into 8 pieces then make a sandwich with the aubergine, mozzarella and basil leaves.

Dip the aubergine sandwich into the flour and shake off any excess. Then dip into the beaten eggs and then into the breadcrumbs to coat. Repeat the process to give the sandwich a double coating of the breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan to 160 C (or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds) Carefully lower the sandwich into the hot oil and deep-fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and cut the sandwich into 4 portions. Serve with a warm tomato sauce.

For the tomato sauce

2 shallots, peeled and diced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 fresh chilli, chopped

10 ripe plum tomatoes, skin removed, finely diced

Method for the tomato sauce:

Sweat the shallots in a litlle olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and chilli and leave to sweat for a further 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 15-20 minutes.

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