Sunny's Beer-Battered Eggplant Fries with Nunya Business Tzatziki Dip
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 4 servings
- Calories
- 1528
- Total Fat
- 117
- Saturated Fat
- 18
- Carbohydrates
- 103
- Dietary Fiber
- 13
- Sugar
- 14
- Protein
- 18
- Cholesterol
- 62
- Sodium
- 1675
- Total: 50 min
- Active: 45 min
Ingredients
Dip:
8 ounces chive and onion cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Eggplant:
2 eggplant, peeled and cut into fry-length spears (avoid the seeded center)
Vegetable oil, for brushing
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Greek seasoning blend
Batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Greek seasoning blend
Zest of 2 lemons
Kosher salt
About 12 ounces beer
Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
Lemon wedges, for squeezing
Kosher salt
Directions
- For the dip: In a food processor, add the cream cheese, dill, cucumber and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice and pulse until smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For the eggplant: Place the eggplant spears on a baking sheet and lightly brush with the oil just to coat. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, Greek seasoning, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the eggplant in batches and coat with the flour mixture, shaking to remove the excess, then remove to a plate.
- For the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, Greek seasoning, lemon zest and a nice pinch of salt until combined. Slowly whisk in the beer until you achieve a pancake batter consistency; you may not use all of the beer. Allow the batter to rest 5 minutes. If it thickens, loosen with a bit more beer.
- Heat a fryer filled with oil to the proper level or a pot with about 2 inches of oil to 365 degrees F.
- In batches, dunk the flour-coated eggplant spears into the batter, shake off the excess and gently place in the oil. Fry until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes, making sure to maintain an oil temperature around 350 degrees F. Remove the eggplant to a paper towel-lined plate and immediately spritz lightly with lemon juice and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Serve immediately with the chilled dip.