Eggplant Croquettes

Thank you to Mary, a CSA shareholder in Wyomissing, PA, for sharing the following recipe from AllRecipes.com. She writes, "This one was delicious...a little naughty being that it is deep fried, but you could also bake them. Enjoy!!"

Eggplant Croquettes
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, peeled and cubed 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup vegetable oil for frying 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1.	Place eggplant in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium-high 3 minutes. Turn eggplant over and microwave another 2 minutes. The eggplant should be tender, cook another 2 minutes if the eggplants are not tender. Drain any liquid from the eggplants and mash.
2.	Combine cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, onion, garlic and salt with the mashed eggplant. Mix well.
3.	Shape the eggplant mixture into patties. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop eggplant patties one at a time into skillet. Fry each side of the patties until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Patties can be frozen before frying and cooked later.