Eggplant Sandwiches Recipe

Provided By
RecipeTips

Using eggplant in place of bread is colorful, tasty - and a great way to eat more veggies! Use chopped left-over meat in place of ground meat if you wish - ham is especially good. Or make a vegetarian version using 8 oz. sauteed mushrooms in place of meat. Improvise!

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Servings:

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
1/2 pound ground meat: beef, lamb, or turkey
1/8 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon
1/4 cup olive oil, divided (or as needed)
1 cup pasta sauce, purchased or home-made (use more if you wish)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz.)
salt and pepper

Container:grill

Directions

PREP

20 mins

COOK

15 mins

READY IN

35 mins

Start grill.
Slice unpeeled eggplant about 3/8" thick, lengthwise.
Season ground meat with 1/2 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of fresh pepper and 1/8 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and cook the meat, stirring to break into small pieces, until no trace of pink remains, about 5 minutes. Pour off - or blot up - any accumulated fat, and add pasta sauce. Stir to mix well, taste for seasoning, and set aside.
Brush or spray eggplant slices lightly with olive oil. Salt very lightly and grill 5 - 7 minutes per side, until done (soft inside, a bit crisp outside). See TIP
To assemble the sandwiches: reheat the meat sauce if necessary; it should be quite warm. For each sandwich, put one eggplant slice for the bottom, add a generous layer of sauce and 1/4 of the cheese. Repeat. and top with an eggplant slice. Serve warm.
TIP: you will need only the 6 largest center slices for the sandwiches, but grill all slices and reserve any extra for another use.

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