Slamtastic Eggplant Sandwich Recipes

EGGPLANT SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Slice the eggplant into 15 pieces, brush with olive oil, place on cookie sheet, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 25 minutes and let cool.
• Cut the baguette into 1/3's and slice in 1/2 for sandwiches. Slice green and red peppers, discarding stems and seeds. Slice the tomatoes and red onion and set aside. Mix goat and feta cheese together, set aside. In separate bowls place oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil.
• Spread goat and feta cheese mix on 1 side of baguette and brush other side lightly with olive oil. Spread 5 pieces of eggplant on baguette, generous amounts of red and green peppers, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Lastly, sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Slice the eggplants into ½" thick disks. If you have the time, season the slices with salt and set aside on rack to "drain" for 30 minutes. Wipe the salt and excess moisture off with paper towel. If you don't have the time, you can get away with not doing this step, but you'll need to season the eggplant more aggressively in later steps.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Place the flour in a dredging bowl. Place the panko, oregano, and garlic powder in another dredging bowl, and stir to combine. In a third bowl, whisk together the eggs with a pinch of salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of water.
• Dredge the eggplant slices in the flour, shake off the excess, then in the egg, shake off the excess, then into the panko bread crumbs. Set aside.
• Heat up a skillet over medium heat, and fill with enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan about ¼" up. Place a single layer of eggplant slices into the skillet and fry for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Make sure to watch that the eggplant slices aren't burning, and adjust the heat up or down as needed.
• Place the fried eggplant slices on a tray, season with salt and pepper, then keep in the warm oven while you finish frying all batches of eggplant. Add more olive oil to the skillet as needed.
• When you're done frying all the eggplant, remove the eggplant from the oven and increase the temperature to 350 degrees F.
• To assemble each sandwich, slice a ciabatta roll in half, then put on a single layer of eggplant slices. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then add a couple spoonfuls of grated parmesan, then a couple spoonfuls of marinara sauce, then a single layer of sliced mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil, then put the top of the sandwich on and bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is melty. Tuck a few basil leaves into each sandwich, then enjoy!

BAKED EGGPLANT SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Slice the eggplant into rounds slightly thinner than ¼ inch.
• Place the rounds into a colander and sprinkle them with salt. Let the eggplant sit for about 30 minutes to draw out moisture and bitterness. Rinse the rounds and pat them dry with paper towels.
• Place rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Place the eggplant rounds on a flat surface, lining them up in rows with like-sized slices paired together. Tear the provolone into small pieces. Cover half of the eggplant slices with a layer of the torn provolone.
• Drain the sun dried tomatoes of their excess oil. Place a sun dried tomato on top of each of the provolone-covered eggplant slices. Divide half of the fresh chopped parsley between the eggplant slices, sprinkling a little parsley onto the top of each sun dried tomato. Season the piled slices with salt and pepper.
• Use the rest of the empty eggplant slices to cover the piled slices, making small eggplant sandwiches.
• In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs or almond meal and grated parmesan. If using almond meal, you will need twice as much of the breading mixture (twice the almond meal, twice the parmesan), as the almond meal tends to clump a bit during the breading process. The parmesan should be finely grated to a powdery texture; if your parmesan is shredded, pulse it in a food processor till powdery. In a small mixing bowl, beat the eggs (start with 2-you may or may not end up needing one more). Grease a nonstick baking sheet. Gather the eggplant sandwiches, two bowls, and baking sheet together.
• Grab one sandwich at a time, grasping firmly in the center to hold it together. Dip the sandwich in the beaten eggs, making sure it is completely covered on all sides with a thin layer of egg. Let any excess egg drip back into the bowl.Immediately coat the sandwich in the breadcrumb or almond meal mixture, making sure to coat the sides and edges evenly. Place the breaded sandwich on the greased baking sheet. Repeat till all sandwiches have been dipped and breaded.
• Drizzle the coated sandwiches lightly with the olive oil, dividing it evenly between the sandwiches.
• Bake in preheated oven on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes, flipping once halfway through baking, till the sandwiches are golden brown. Serve them warm sprinkled with the remaining chopped parsley. Optionally, top each sandwich with 2 tbsp warm marinara or arrabiata sauce, then with parsley.

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA SANDWICH

Steps:

• Slice the eggplant crosswise about 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick - make slices as consistent as possible. If the base of the eggplant is very large, cut it in half lengthwise. Soak the sliced eggplant in a large bowl of warm, salted water for 1 to 2 hours. Make sure the eggplant is completely submerged in the salt water.
• Scramble the 3 eggs with salt and pepper to make an egg wash. Remove eggplant slices from the salt bath, shake off excess moisture, and dip into egg wash. Then dip the eggplant slices, 1 at a time, into a flat plate filled with seasoned bread crumbs, covering all surfaces, and set aside. Continue breading the eggplant until all slices are done. Discard excess egg wash and bread crumbs.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and allow it to heat up. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.)
• Add the breaded eggplant slices to the pan, cover and cook until you begin to see the eggplant become translucent, about 5 minutes. If it begins to burn, lower heat and allow it to cook slowly. Using a large spatula, turn eggplant onto the other side and cook 1 to 2 more minutes with the lid on until eggplant is completely tender.
• When eggplant is completely cooked, remove from frying pan and place onto paper towels to blot any excess oil.
• Place 2 or 3 eggplant slices onto warmed Italian roll, top with shredded mozzarella cheese, then warm marinara sauce. Enjoy!

GRILLED EGGPLANT SANDWICH

Steps:

• Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill. In a small bowl, combine garlic with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Brush garlic oil on cut sides of bread and grill until lightly toasted on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Top bottom half with cheese.
• Brush eggplant with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender and lightly charred, 12 to 15 minutes, flipping once. Layer eggplant on cheese. Brush tomatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until lightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes, flipping once. Layer tomatoes on eggplant, top with basil, and sandwich with top half of bread. Cut crosswise into 4 pieces and serve.

SLAMTASTIC EGGPLANT SANDWICH

Steps:

• Pour the oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Place the eggplant slices in the heated pan and cook without moving until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the eggplant and continue to cook until golden brown on the other side. Remove from heat.
• Mix together the mayonnaise and garlic in a small bowl.
• Lay the toasted rolls out, cut side up. Place the cooked eggplant on the bottom half of each roll. Layer the eggplant with fresh basil leaves and crumbled feta. Spread the garlic mayo very lightly over the cut side of the top each toasted roll. Place the tops on the prepared sandwich.