peel and small dice the eggplant, toss in a large bowl with salt. Allow to sit for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Stir every 10 minutes. You will begin to see water at the bottom of the bowl.
4 eggplant, peeled and small diced, 2 tsp salt
after water has been released, place in strainer and squeeze out excess liquid. Wrap in a clean cloth, twist and squeeze.
Cook the eggplant
Using a mortar and pestle or spoon and bowl, crush the dry seasonings together to wake them up a bit. Smell and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Looking for a sausage type of seasoning aroma.
Heat the pan to medium and add the dry seasonings. Heat until fragrant about 1 minute stirring.
1 tsp italian seasoning, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp oregano, 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, for heat
Add the oil and garlic and heat until fragrant, be careful not to burn. Turn down pan if necessary.
2 tbsp neutral oil for frying, 4 cloves garlic
Add the eggplant and stir to coat in the seasoned oil. Cook on medium heat and stir every 3 minutes until eggplant is tender 15-30 minutes depending on your dice size. If it starts to stick you can add 1 -2 Tbsp of water. This will also help steam the eggplant.
Cook to your desired tenderness.
Notes
Use this pan fried eggplant on pizza in pasta sauce. Can add to other dishes as well. Can even alter the flavor profile to lean more mexican for tacos, curry or asian for rice bowls.