Put eggplant up there with beets as a new summer garden favorite! Did you know that it is botanically classified as a berry? One big, bitter berry! Eggplant is filled with fiber, potassium and manganese.

For this dish you will need a Panini Grill for those nice grill lines, otherwise use an electric skillet.

Ingredients:

1 deep purple, firm eggplant sliced into 1/2″ rounds
1/4 cup coarse salt
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Place salt in a shallow dish and one by one rub rounds in it to lightly coat
Put salted rounds into a colander with a plate beneath to catch the drainage
Leave for at least 2 hours and up to overnight

Put 1/4 cup of the flour into a breading pan
Mix remaining ingredients into another breading pan
Rinse salt off of rounds and blot dry with a clean, dry cloth
Coat each in flour and then in breading mixture and place on panini grill
Grill until the breading is lightly brown and crisp

Enjoy with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, on a salad or over pasta!