An eggplant fan is an unusual and very tasty dish, which does not require much effort or time to prepare.
Most housewives are used to adding the mentioned vegetable to caviar, various snacks, salads, and more. However, the culinary experts claim that from such a product, the second dish baked in the oven is also very tasty. How to cook it, we will tell in the presented article. Believe me, this option of using vegetables will not disappoint you.
The eggplant fan is also remarkable for the fact that its filling can vary significantly depending on the hostess’s imagination and her taste preferences. What products will be needed to prepare this dish, we will tell you right now.
Eggplant fan: recipe for cooking
There are several options for how to cook the dish we are considering at home. We decided to describe only the simplest and most affordable method, for the implementation of which many outlandish and expensive components will not be required.
So what ingredients do we need to make the eggplant a fan? The recipe for such an unusual dish requires the use of:
- large blue eggplants - 3 pcs.;
- olive mayonnaise - about 150 g;
- refined sunflower oil - approximately 20 ml;
- ground black pepper - a few pinch;
- large ripe tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
- coarse salt; several pinch;
- cheese "Russian" hard - about 100 g;
- fresh garlic - a few cloves (to taste and desire).
We process components
Before you make an eggplant fan for the festive table, vegetables should be carefully processed. The main component is thoroughly washed in warm water, and then the tails are removed and divided in half along. After that, the eggplant halves are laid down on the board and cut so that a kind of fan is obtained from the vegetables. In other words, the product is not cut to the end of about 1 cm.
As soon as the blue vegetable is processed, it is generously flavored with salt and left in this form for 25-35 minutes. This procedure is necessary so that all the inherent bitterness is removed from the eggplant.
After the specified time, the vegetables are washed thoroughly under running water, and then dried thoroughly with paper towels.
As for the other components, they are also processed. Fresh tomatoes are washed thoroughly and cut into thin circles. If the tomatoes are too large, then they are divided in half.
Also, cloves of garlic are separately chopped and Russian cheese is cut into slices.
The process of forming a festive dish
How should an eggplant fan be made? This process is carried out easily and simply. Sliced vegetables are spread on a baking sheet with cooking foil or oiled, and then the whole filling is placed in a cut. To do this, alternate circles of tomatoes, slices of cheese and chopped garlic.
To get not only tasty, but also a beautiful fan of eggplant, sprinkle it with a small amount of salt and pepper, and then cover with a mayonnaise net. This processing will contribute to browning dishes, making it more appetizing.
Heat treatment in the oven
After the eggplant fan is formed and laid out on a baking sheet, it is immediately sent to the preheated oven. For quick cooking of such an unusual dish, it is advisable to bake it at a temperature of 180-190 degrees.
The duration of the festive dinner baking depends on the size of the used eggplant, as well as on the filling. As a rule, eggplants with a fan and cheese become usable after 40-50 minutes.
Before you take out a delicious and beautiful dish from the oven, you should definitely check for readiness. To do this, pierce the eggplant with a wooden stick or a toothpick. If an object freely passes into the thickness of the product, then the dish can be safely removed from the oven.
How to serve at the dining table?
Now you know how to cook eggplant baked with a fan. After the heat treatment, the vegetables are carefully removed from the oven and immediately spread on a flat plate. In this form, the dish is presented to guests along with a slice of bread or toasted toast.
It should be noted that some housewives use this dinner as a side dish for meat. Eggplant is ideally combined with pork, beef and poultry. They can also be consumed with fried or pickled mushrooms.
It is impossible not to mention that it is advisable to serve such a dish to the dining table or dinner immediately after the heat treatment. This is due to the fact that if you stand eggplant, baked with a fan, aside, then they can very quickly highlight their juice, making the dish watery and not very tasty.
To summarize
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the preparation of the dish we are considering. Therefore, even the hostess can realize the described recipe without sufficient culinary experience. By the way, some culinary specialists noticeably modify it. For example, in addition to tomatoes and cheese, they additionally place thin circles of zucchini, onion rings, various greens, carrots and other vegetables in an eggplant fan.
If you want to make a meat dish, we recommend using minced meat, thin slices of bacon, ham, sausage or even sausages chopped in slices as a filling. Such components will contribute to a more satisfying and aromatic dinner.