Eggplant Schnitzel, tahini, and broccoli tabouli

Eggplant schnitzel, tahini, and broccoli tabouli is golden, crunchy and delicious and completely Vegan too. I don’t know if I am meant to tell you if it is naughty or nice. These crunchy eggplant schnitzels are very popular around my house.

Love eggplant?

Or do you think eggplant is a bit boring? Well, you know the old saying anything crumbed and deep fried is delicious. It couldn’t be truer here.

Eggplants have a soft melting texture when cooked so this in combination with the crunchy coat enclosing the flesh is a perfect treat.

I can’t lie it’s the best eggplant ever. When making the schnitzels though, there will be just a little guesswork, because I cannot specify exactly how many crumbs or coating ingredients you are going to need BECAUSE eggplants are all different sizes.

All Eggplants are different sizes.

You are really just going to have to go with it. A bit like crumbing anything, it’s hard to predict exactly. The stated amounts will get you about 2 schnitzels each for 4

This is a completely vegan dish. Crumb coatings without eggs are easy. I’ve added a lot of spices and delicious flavours to the batter for these schnitzels and it all adds up to big smacking flavours

I use about two large eggplants and these slice into around 5 or 6 pieces each

Making an (egg) wash without eggs just calls for making the “wash or batter” just the right thickness. It needs to be just thick enough to coat the eggplant and help the crumbs stick. If the “batter or wash” is too thin it will run off too quickly and the crumbs won’t stick to the eggplant

When to cook these schnitzels!

Cook these schnitzels as soon as they leave the frypan. You should have the salad ready and the eaters in place because these should be eaten straight from the frypan. As with a lot of crumbed things if left to sit for too long the steam will start to pull off the crumbs. Just drain on paper and serve

I love these schnitzels with a lovely green salad to freshen them up. This green salad is based on tabouli, with the addition of broccoli.

Tabbouleh (tabouli) is a Mediterranean salad made of finely chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint, onion, and bulgur wheat. It is has a dressing made with lots of lemon juice and seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper. There are variations like mine here. I have made this version gluten free by adding quinoa instead of wheat.

You’ll often find tabbouleh as a side dish on Mediterranean menus. Above all, it goes well with hummus, baba ganoush, feta, and olives… and here with the lemon tahini sauce.

You could serve these with tomato sauce like a parmi (smothered with cheese if not for a vegan) or even mashed potato. Most importantly the lemon and tahini are a match in culinary heaven for these crumbed eggplant schnitzels

What can I serve with my schnitzels?

• Try serving your schnitzels with mashed potato.
• Roast pumpkin sprinkled with dukkah.
• Steamed crushed new potatoes
• Fried or roasted zucchini rounds
• Hommus

Try these recipes too!

Eggplant schnitzel

Crunchy delicious vegan eggplant schnitzel with a refreshing broccoli tabouli style salad

Prep Time 40 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Course dinner, Gluten free, vegan

Cuisine Australian, Middle Eastern Inspired

Ingredients  

Schnitzels

• 140 gm gluten free flour 1 cup
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons cumin / ground
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 250 ml water / approx
• 3 cups crumbs Japanese Panko or gluten free rice crumbs
• 2 eggplants medium to large
• 140 gm gluten free flour extra

Broccoli Tabouli

• 300 gm broccoli 1 large head aprox 300 gm
• 2 bunch parsley flat leaf
• 1 bunch mint picked
• 1/2 cup shallots/ green oinions finely sliced 1/4 bunch
• 1 tomato medium sized
• 40 ml lemon juice 1 lemon (2-Tablespoons)
• 60 ml olive oil 3 Tablespoons
• 1/2 cup quinoa, Makes approx 1 cup

Tahini Drizzle

• 60 gm tahini 3 tablespoons
• 40 ml lemon juice 2 Tablespoons
• 60 ml water / approximately 3 Tablespoons
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions 

“Egg” wash

• Mix the gluten free flour with paprika, cumin, and garlic powder. Whisk together well then mix in 3/4 of the water until you have a smooth mixture. Add more water bit by bit until you have a smooth batter that clings to your finger when you dip it in. Set aside.

Crumbing the eggplants

• Slice the eggplants into slices lengthways about the thickness of about 1 cm or 1/2 an inch. Set these aside

• Set up the flour , batter and crumbs all in a row. Prepare an extra dish of gluten free flour. Pour the crumbs into another large flat dish. Coat the eggplant pieces in flour. Dip into the batter and then the crumbs. Set the eggplant aside

Broccoli tabouli/ tabbouleh

• Start with the quinoa. 1/2 cup will make approx 1 to 1 1/4 cups. Rinse quinoa to remove any natural bitter flavour. Add the rinsed quinoa 1 cup of water to a medium saucepan, then bring to a boil. ( quinoa can be cooked in broth-stock too) Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (10 to 15 minutes). You can tell that it’s cooked when it is a little translucent and the quinoa looks like it has a tail a bit like little shoots. It’s cooked very similar to rice but takes a bit less time. Drain and fluff with a fork and season. Put into a bowl and set aside

• Put the pot back on to blanch the broccoli. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Throw in the broccoli torn into small florets. When the water comes back to boil, drain the broccoli and put it into cold water until it cools. Drain and shake well. Add to the quinoa.

• Wash and dry the parsley and the picked mint and chop some nice and fine and some leaves larger. You can use all of the parsley stalks and all. Add the chopped greens along with the sliced green onion (shallots) to the quinoa and broccoli. Dice the tomato into small dice (brunoise) adding any juices that come from the tomato into the salad

• Mix the olive oil and lemon juice with a bit of salt and pepper and mix into the tabouli mix

To serve

• Set up a tray with kitchen paper. Heat a large fry pan with about 5 to 6 cm oil (2-3 inches). Test the oil with a few crumbs to see if they start to cook and bubble when added. Turn the heat down just a bit and add one schnitzel and let it start to sizzle. Depending on the size of the fry pan add two to three others. Once sizzling check the heat constantly. If they are cooking too quickly and getting dark quickly turn the heat down. If they are not colouring within a few minutes turn the heat up. Turn over once browned one side and brown the other. Drain on paper and start again

• Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately with tabouli and tahini drizzle

Notes

Hints for using quinoa
When you’re deciding how much to cook, keep in mind that 1 cup of quinoa will yield about 3 cups of cooked quinoa.
The ratio is 1 cup of uncooked quinoa to 2 cups of liquid (water or stock).This will take 10 to 15 minutes. When the liquid has been absorbed, 
When you’re deciding how much to cook, keep in mind that 1 cup of quinoa will yield about 3 cups of cooked quinoa.
The ratio is 1 cup of uncooked quinoa to 2 cups of liquid (water or stock). This will take 10 to 15 minutes. When the liquid has been mostly absorbed, 
These schnitzels can also be shallow fried

Keyword Dinner, maincourse