Pan-Fried White Eggplant with Onion, Caper, and Herb Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 small or 2 medium white eggplants
• salt, for drawing water out of eggplant
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 T capers
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley
• 1 T chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Rinse the eggplants, trim away both ends, and slice them into 3/4 inch thick pieces. Lay the slices out on a cutting board in one layer.
2. Scatter salt over both sides of the eggplant and leave it for about 20 minutes, or until you can see moisture beading up from the salt. Pat both sides dry with a paper towel. If you’re firmly in the “salting eggplant is unnecessary” camp, you can skip this part.
3. Warm 1 T olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, just until the oil begins to shimmer.
4. Add the eggplant and let it cook on the first side until it starts to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Flip the pieces and cook the second side until the eggplant is tender all the way through and browned on both sides. If your pan isn’t large enough, cook the eggplant in two batches.
5. Transfer the cooked eggplant to serving dishes.
6. While the eggplant is cooking, chop the onion, garlic, parsley, and basil.
7. Combine the capers, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, parsley, basil, and 1 T olive oil in a food processor and pulse a few times. I used the bowl of my immersion blender. If you’d rather keep the sauce chunkier, you can skip this step.
8. Add the last tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and let it heat for about 30 seconds. Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.
9. Stir in the minced garlic and saute for another minute or two.
10. Add the caper mixture and warm it for about a minute, then spoon the sauce over the eggplant and serve immediately.