Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini! It’s my favorite way to eat these veggies. It’s also incredibly easy to make. I dredge the squash in cornmeal making sure both sides are coated well and then fry in butter until both sides are crisp browned and tender. I drain the squash on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and pepper and it’s ready to serve.
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Are you trying to find inventive ways to get your kids to eat squash? Here’s one of them. This recipe is absolutely delicious. I can eat a bowlful of it in one sitting! No kidding. It’s also great reheated in the microwave for leftovers, too. I sprinkle a lot of salt and pepper on mine, and then practically inhale this stuff. 🙂
Rolling sliced squash or eggplant in cornmeal and frying in butter until completely done creates a wonderful, almost sweet-tasting vegetable. Add a little salt and pepper and it’s a wonderful side dish. It is also a good base for Eggplant Parmesan or Zucchini Parmesan.
People who don’t normally eat any of these three types of vegetables usually love them prepared this way. If you are vegan you can substitute olive oil, avocado oil or coconut oil for the butter.
I have tried cutting down the butter (and therefore the calories) but it just doesn’t work as well. I’ve tried making it by just spraying cooking spray in the skillets. That really doesn’t work. I’ve used special pans where you’re not supposed to have to add oil. That also doesn’t work.
The squash and eggplant need the moisture from the butter/oil in order to turn out right and not be dried out. I’ve tried baking it with parmesan cheese in my Parmesan Baked Yellow Squash but that’s totally different in texture and taste. I suppose all that butter is what helps give the squash such a superior taste.
While Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini is gluten free it can’t be considered healthy because of all the butter/fat that is used to cook it in. It is delicious however. You can also check out my Fried Zucchini recipe where I’ve singled out zucchini and just made that with this basic recipe.
I got this recipe from a neighbor who I also went to church with in Florida. She invited us over for dinner one night and she served steaks with heaps of grilled onions and fried zucchini or yellow squash and some kind of rich dessert. I can’t remember the dessert. But these veggies were so simple and wonderful tasting, that I began adding them to our regular dinner menus.
When I initially posted this recipe in June 2012, I had only begun my blog a couple of days before hand. I had served this for company, but really didn’t have time to take good pictures at any stage of the process. Plus, I was using an iPhone 3 to take pictures and it really didn’t do the job very well. However, that’s all I had to work with.
I recently remade this recipe (January 2015) making all three kinds of the squash. I believe this is a better presentation of what this delicious side dish looks like. I’ve made it a LOT over the years. Usually I only make one kind of squash and serve it with any main dish entree I’m making. But for the purpose of this post, I went ahead and made all three. Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini is a wonderful side dish that I drool over every time I make it. I hope you enjoy it too.
I have to admit Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini is one of my favorite ways to eat these three veggies!
Here’s a plate of Fried Yellow Squash and Zucchini. This is a succulent and amazing way to serve it.
If you’ve never tried squash this way, you don’t know what you’re missing.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients.
Unless you order online or live in Massachusetts you probably won’t be able to find this amazing stone ground
Wash zucchini. Slice off ends. Place cornmeal in a small bowl. Slice zucchini and then dredge each side very well in the cornmeal. Heat your skillet to a medium heat and melt a tablespoon or so of butter. Swirl the butter around in the pan so it’s completely coated. Add zucchini slices, cover with lid, and fry about 5 minutes or until the bottoms are well browned. Using a fork, turn zucchini pieces over. Dab small dabs of butter around the edge and in between some of the zucchinis so there’s enough moisture for the zucchini to brown. The zucchini on the left are not done enough so they will be turned over a few more times until completely done. Cover and continue to cook the zucchini in batches with additional butter until all the zucchini is cooked through. As each batch of zucchini comes out of the skillet, place it on paper towel-lined plates to absorb some of the extra butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue layering zucchini and sprinkle each layer with more salt and pepper until finished. This is an excellent way to use up those big whopper zucchinis from the garden that have gotten too big. Once they get to a certain size they start getting tough, but they work great in this recipe. Repeat this process with the yellow squash. Fry the yellow squash. Add more butter if the pan seems dry. (Cover with lid). Turn yellow squash over with a fork. Add more butter and recover with lid. The squash on the right will have to be cooked a little longer. They are not cooking as quickly as the squash on the left side. Once squash is cooked, place on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until all the yellow squash is cooked. Now repeat the process again with eggplant. Peel the eggplant, if desired (the skin is bitter). Dredge eggplant slices in cornmeal. Fry in butter until the bottoms are well browned. (Cover with lid). Turn eggplant over and dab with more butter as needed. Cover with lid. I use a lot of butter. If you look closely you can see little dabs of butter between the eggplant slices. When done, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until all the eggplant slices are cooked. Serve Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini with whatever main dish you desire. Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini are all so delectable. Yellow squash is on the left, Eggplant is in the middle, and zucchini is on the right. Fried squash is also terrific for tailgating parties! Here’s the recipe. (Recipe adapted from Lorrel Newton, when we attended First Baptist Church Indian Rocks, Largo, FL) This is a great way to get your kids to try eggplant or squash. If you have a lot of squash coming from your garden or from your CSA, this is a great way to cook some of it up. We absolutely love Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini. It is so scrumptious I can eat plates of this stuff!FRIED EGGPLANT, YELLOW SQUASH OR ZUCCHINI
Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
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Fried Eggplant, Yellow Squash or Zucchini
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
11 Comments
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Maureen
July 22, 2015 at 5:13 am
wonderful recipes
Teresa
July 22, 2015 at 12:34 pm
Thanks, Maureen. We love this stuff!
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cindy knoke
November 17, 2012 at 12:38 am
Trying to figure out a different side dish for TG. Since the meal itself is so rich, considering this. But I’m trying to come up with some vege (green or orange) that is Thanksgivingy but not too rich as a respite….Hmmm. What a fun dilemma! Will keep looking through your side dishes. This looks really good!
Teresa
November 17, 2012 at 5:58 am
You might consider Italian zucchini, slow roasted summer vegetables, or green beans amandine. I do the same thing. I make a big green salad & have one dish without all the goop!
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