This Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca transforms the humble aubergine into a show-stopping centrepiece. This recipe pairs golden, breaded aubergine with a bold and flavour-packed puttanesca sauce, combining layers of texture and flavour. It’s the kind of meal that’s equally perfect for a weeknight dinner or a dinner party spread. Watch me make it here.
Table of Contents
- Ingredient Breakdown
- Salting the Aubergines for Maximum Crispiness
- Building a Bold Puttanesca Sauce
- Perfecting Crispy Aubergine Rounds
- Assembling the Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca
- Why this Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca Works as a Centrepiece
- How to Serve your Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca
- Final Thoughts
- More Aubergine/Eggplant Recipes
Ingredient Breakdown
- Aubergine: The star of this recipe. Salting the aubergine draws out excess moisture, making it perfectly crisp when fried.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Adds richness and depth to the puttanesca sauce while ensuring the garlic and anchovies cook evenly.
- Garlic: Essential for creating a flavourful base for the sauce. Its aroma ties the whole dish together.
- Anchovy fillets: Bring a salty, umami punch to the sauce, enhancing its savoury depth.
- Chilli flakes: Add a gentle heat that balances the sauce’s tanginess and richness.
- Kalamata olives: Their briny flavour contrasts beautifully with the sweetness of the tomatoes.
- Capers: Add sharpness and complexity to the sauce.
- Plum tomatoes: The foundation of the puttanesca, these create a robust, chunky sauce.
- Fresh parsley: Brightens the dish and adds a pop of freshness as both a garnish and in the sauce.
- Plain flour, eggs, and panko breadcrumbs: The holy trinity for the perfect breading, creating a crisp, golden coating for the aubergine.
- Vegetable oil: Ideal for shallow frying, ensuring the aubergine rounds cook evenly without overpowering their flavour.
- Parmigiano reggiano: A generous grating at the end adds a nutty, salty finish to the dish.
Salting the Aubergines for Maximum Crispiness
A key step in this Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca recipe is salting the aubergine. Why? Aubergines naturally hold a lot of water, which can make them soggy when fried. Salting not only removes this moisture but also seasons the aubergine from the inside out.
Arrange the slices on wire racks to allow the water to drain freely, and be generous with the salt—it will be wiped away before cooking. Once patted dry, you’ll notice the slices have a firmer texture, which makes them ideal for breading and frying.
Building a Bold Puttanesca Sauce
The puttanesca sauce is what makes the crispy aubergine shine. Made with pantry staples like tinned tomatoes, olives, capers, and anchovies, it’s the perfect balance of salty, briny, and slightly sweet. A splash of extra-virgin olive oil brings it all together.
Cooking the garlic, chilli flakes, and anchovies first creates a deeply aromatic base. Adding the olives and capers ensures that their flavours infuse the sauce as it simmers. The final step of stirring in fresh parsley adds a bright, herbaceous note, keeping the sauce lively and balanced.
The slow simmer—35 to 45 minutes—is crucial. This reduces the sauce, intensifying its flavours and creating a rich texture that clings beautifully to the crispy aubergine rounds.
Perfecting Crispy Aubergine Rounds
Achieving the ultimate crispiness for this Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca requires attention to detail. The dredging process—flour, egg, then panko—is key. The flour provides a dry surface for the egg to stick to, while the egg acts as a glue for the breadcrumbs. Panko breadcrumbs, known for their airy texture, give the rounds that signature crunch.
A few tips:
- Press the breadcrumbs firmly onto the aubergine slices to ensure an even coating.
- Don’t worry if the coating doesn’t adhere to the skin—it’s the flesh that shines here.
- Shallow frying, rather than deep frying, keeps the aubergine rounds crisp without becoming greasy. Use a wire rack to drain excess oil and keep them crisp while you fry the rest.
Assembling the Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca
The assembly is where this dish truly comes to life. Start by spreading a generous layer of the warm puttanesca sauce across a large platter. Arrange the crispy aubergine rounds over the top, letting some of the sauce peek through. Finish with freshly grated parmesan and a sprinkle of parsley for a dish that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
For an extra flourish, drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the top and serve immediately. The contrast of the piping hot sauce, the crispy aubergine, and the fresh toppings creates a symphony of textures and flavours.
Why this Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca Works as a Centrepiece
This Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca strikes the perfect balance between hearty and refined. The aubergine’s crisp coating and soft interior make it incredibly satisfying, while the puttanesca sauce delivers a punchy, vibrant flavour. It’s substantial enough to hold its own as a vegetarian main but pairs beautifully with sides like crusty bread, a simple green salad, or even some buttered pasta.
The visual appeal also makes it a stunning centrepiece. A large platter of Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca, garnished with parmesan and parsley, is a dish that demands attention. It’s rustic yet elegant, inviting everyone to dive in.
How to Serve your Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca
While this Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca is incredible on its own, a few thoughtful pairings can take it to the next level. Here are some ideas:
- Crusty bread: Perfect for mopping up the puttanesca sauce.
- Pasta: Also perfect for soaking up that delicious sauce.
- Bitter green salad: Rocket or radicchio dressed with lemon vinaigrette provides a fresh, zippy contrast.
- Roasted vegetables: Add a seasonal touch with roasted courgettes, peppers, or tenderstem broccoli.
Final Thoughts
Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca is a recipe that showcases the aubergine’s versatility while delivering bold, comforting flavours. The combination of crispy, golden aubergine and rich, tangy puttanesca sauce creates a dish that’s as satisfying to eat as it is to prepare.
Whether you’re cooking for a crowd or treating yourself to something special, this recipe delivers on all fronts. With its vibrant flavours, crisp textures, and stunning presentation, Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca is bound to become a favourite in your repertoire.
More Aubergine/Eggplant Recipes
If, like me, you love aubergines, here are some more recipes for you to try.
- Crispy Aubergine Parmigiana: A meat-free twist on chicken parm, featuring crispy breaded aubergines served over a homemade spicy tomato sauce – delicious!
- Miso Aubergine: Juicy, succulent aubergines, slathered with a rich and savoury miso glaze, then roasted until caramelised.
- Sticky Harissa Aubergine: juicy, roasted aubergines chunks, coated in a sticky harissa glaze and served with whipped tahini and garlic yoghurt.
- Chilli Tahini Aubergine: Roasting the aubergine whole gives you with the juiciest, creamiest flesh, which you then drown in the most delicious chilli-spiked tahini sauce.
- Smoky Aubergine and Red Pepper Dip (Kyopolou): A smoky, creamy dip made from roasted aubergines and red peppers, perfect for dipping or spreading on bread.
- Steamed Aubergine with Sichuan Chilli Oil: This steamed aubergine dish swaps the traditional poached chicken for tender, succulent aubergine, covered with an umami-packed Sichuan chilli oil sauce.
Crispy Aubergine Puttanesca
Aubergine is one of my favourite vegetables! It’s delicious and so incredibly versatile. For this recipe, we’re salting it first, to draw out some of the moisture, then breading and frying it to golden brown perfection. The result is an incredibly crispy piece of aubergine with a soft, juicy centre. Paired with a chunky puttanesca sauce, it makes for a very delicious veggie centrepiece, especially when served on a large platter and topped with lots of grated parmesan and fresh parsley.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 2 round aubergines (or double the amount of standard large aubergines)
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 anchovy fillets, minced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 100g kalamata olives, halved
- 2 tbsp capers
- 2 x 400g tins good-quality plum tomatoes, crushed
- 30g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 150g plain flour
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 300g panko breadcrumbs
- vegetable oil
- handful grated parmigiano reggiano
Instructions
- Slice your aubergines into 2cm-thick rounds and arrange in a single layer across two large wire racks set over large baking trays. Generously sprinkle with salt on both sides and set aside while you move onto the sauce.
- Heat a splash of extra-virgin olive oil in a medium saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and anchovies and cook, stirring almost constantly, for 1 minute, then add the olives, capers and tinned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until thickened, 35 to 45 mins.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, add half of the parsley and adjust the salt level, to your liking. Set aside.
- Place the flour and eggs in two separate shallow bowls and season each with salt and pepper. Place the panko in a third bowl.
- By this point, the aubergine will have released lots of water. Pat the rounds dry with kitchen towel, gently pressing out any excess moisture.
- Dredge the aubergine rounds in the flour, then the egg, then the panko breadcrumbs, pressing to ensure the rounds are fully coated on both sides. Note: the coating won’t stick to the aubergine skin.
- Heat a centimetre or two of vegetable oil in a large frying pan set over a medium heat. Working in batches, cook the aubergines for 5 minutes, flipping once halfway through then transfer to a wire rack to drain. You can keep them warm in a low oven while you make the rest.
- Reheat your sauce then it’s time to assemble. Spread the sauce onto a large platter, top the aubergine rounds and finish with grated parmesan and the remaining parsley – enjoy!
8 Responses
I just love your recipes and content in general I am new to following your pages but honestly, its just lovely! I am standing in my kitchen holding my eggplants wondering how I will use them and well, now I am inspired 🙂
Thank you so much Danon! Bless you for your kind comment 🙂
Looks amazing but it’s not really a vegetarian recipe if it has anchovies in.
Thank you! My apologies, what was a tagging error, which has now been rectified
Beautiful meal. I was looking for something other than what i usually make. This stood out. I used Sicilian olives as I didn’t have kalamata. I was not accurate with measurements and may have over cooked my garlic slightly. But it still came out nicety. So much depth to the dish yet so simple to make. The Aubergines were light and crunchy but also kept it’s flesh nice and cooked. I also used normal crumbs as i didn’t have panko. Don’t skip the parsley. I’m glad I didn’t. It brings out the flavour to a whole nother level but go easy.
Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your detailed review. And yes absolutely, please no one skip the parsley! It tied it all together and adds some much needed freshness 🙂
This is one of my favourite recipes from you! Thank you so much.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!