Friends of ours recently let us have their week's share of produce from their local farm share crop. We were blessed to receive some beautiful veggies including a yummy eggplant. I decided to try this eggplant "sandwich" recipe which uses no bread. It turned out to be truly delightful! Please try it if you love eggplant! Cut a medium eggplant into about 1/2" thick rounds. (Mike accidentally cut ours thinner but we made it work just as well.) He made up for it by salting the eggplant rounds before cooking to help prevent chewiness. Jut sprinkle with salt and let sit for a few or until moisture droplets can be seen. He swears by this method, so I abide. We try to make cooking, when we do it, a pleasant experience for all as opposed to butting heads..... Anyway, you're going to dip each round in a bowl of flour and coat well. Then you will dip each in a mixture of 2 eggs beaten (vegans can use soy milk and some lemon juice). Let excess egg drip off of each round, then coat in a pre-prepared bowl of panko bread crumbs and any dried herbs you desire. See my southern fried tofu recipe from September for a more lengthy breading instruction. Heat oil in a skillet and place each round in when hot, cooking each side until golden brown. Take them out and blot with a paper towel to remove any excess oil. (Cooking time was about 2-3 minutes per side.) I then began to "build" my "sandwiches" with the eggplant rounds as the "bread". First put down a round, then lettuce of your choice (we used romaine), then tomato slices, then basil, then a cheese of your choice, (we used mozzarella, but thought goat would be delicious, too), then top with an eggplant round again. These were firm enough to pick up and eat like a sandwich which made it even better! We added a glass of organic red wine from Frey Vineyards in California and we had ourselves quite a little meal that we were proud of and was delicious!
P.S. Vegans can substitute a vegan cheese, and really you could get completely creative with how and what you stack on this sandwich! Have fun!
