Grandma Eggplant with Mandram
Another Southern classic from my friend Judy Cromwell, who writes: My grandmother would cook her dinner in the morning and set it on the top shelf of the stove until it was time for the evening meal. She would make me whistle as I passed the stove to make sure I hadn’t stuck one in my mouth. I learned to swipe one while whistling as I was walking by and eat it as I was going out the back door. That’s how much I loved these patties. Makes about 6-8 patties.
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 large egg, beaten
2 T melted butter (“1/2 inch thick slice of butter (from the shorter, fatter cubes) plus a sliver”)
1-2 T flour
1 t ground black pepper
3/4 t poultry seasoning
Bacon grease
1/2 t salt*
Method: Boil eggplant chunks in salted water until tender, about 5 minutes after the water returns to boil. Transfer to a colander and squeeze out all the water using the back of a spoon and a paper towel; drain a few minutes to get rid of the last of the water. (Too much residual water and the patties won’t stick together.) Meanwhile, beat the egg in a medium bowl. Add spices then eggplant, then butter (if the eggplant is still warm you can use softened butter instead of melted, thus saving a dish), finally flour. Stir to mix. It should have the consistency of gloppy pancake batter. (If it’s too liquidy to hold together, add a little more flour.)
Grandma Eggplant
Heat some bacon grease in a non-stick skillet to medium heat and transfer the batter with a tablespoon, carefully depositing a spoonful in the grease and then pressing flat. Patties should be about 4″ in diameter. Cook in two batches (save some bacon grease for the second batch, until brown on each side. Serve 2 as a main course, with mandram or gravy.
- The original recipe did not contain salt, but I think that’s because Grandma’s salted water had a lot of salt in it.
