Spaghettini With Fried Eggplant

Ingredients

1 eggplant
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 t black pepper
2 eggs
2 c bread crumbs
3 c tomato sauce
1 lb spaghettini
3/4 c parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cut the eggplant into 1/8" slices. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Weight the eggplant with a plate and a heavy (3-4lb) weight for 2-3 hours, draining off water as it accumulates. Rinse off the salt and dry on paper towels. Pour 2" of oil into a heavy skillet and heat to 360 deg F. Slicethe eggplant into 1" strips. Put the flour and pepper into a plastic bag and add the eggplant slices, shake to coat the eggplant. Dip the slices in the beaten egg, then the bread crumbs, and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Heat the tomato sauce and cook the spagettini. Pour the sauce over the spagettini, top with the fried eggplant and grated Parmesan cheese. You can use your own favorite tomato sauce or the Fresh Tomato Sauce in the next recipe.