Sunny's Beer-Battered Eggplant Fries with Nunya Business Tzatziki Dip

By margiekyle

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
• 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
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons Greek seasoning blend
• Zest of 2 lemons
• Kosher salt
• 12 About 12 ounces beer
• Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
• Lemon wedges, for squeezing
• Kosher salt

Preparation

Step 1

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.