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chive dill cucumber lemon juice kosher salt eggplant vegetable oil flour blend kosher salt flour blend lemons kosher salt beer peanut lemon wedges kosher salt
Viewed: 74 - Published at: 4 months agoIngredients
- 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
- 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
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 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
Method
- 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.
