There are some sandwiches we love but know we won’t be putting into the shops. That shouldn’t stop you from making them at home. This Eggplant Parmesan sandwich is excellent on our focaccia (available in store) or Turkish pide and has that crispy, soft, creamy and tangy thing going on that makes it an unbeatable homemade sandwich. All the leg work is in preparing the eggplant, but once that’s done, it’s just a matter of spreading and stacking the fillings.
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 4 sandwiches
Equipment: serrated knife, mixing bowls, shallow frying pan
YOU’LL NEED
1 strip Grizzly focaccia* (cut into 4 squares) or 1 Turkish pide (cut into 4 sections)
1 medium eggplant (about 350g)
2g salt
60g (½ cup) plain flour
Pinch salt and pepper
2 eggs
10 ml water
100g panko bread crumbs
40g shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp (0.5g) dried oregano
340g fresh mozzarella, sliced into ½-cm thick slices
16 fresh basil leaves
120g (⅔ cup) your favourite pasta sauce
Vegetable oil, for frying
METHOD
Preparing Ingredients
Remove the top and bottom of the eggplant and discard. Slice trimmed eggplant into 1.5-cm-thick rounds and place into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with 2g salt and move the pieces around so they’re evenly coated. Set aside while you prepare all the other ingredients.
Take 3 bowls with high sides and set them on your work surface. In one bowl, combine the plain flour with salt and pepper. In the second bowl, whisk together eggs with water. And in the third bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the Parmesan cheese and dried oregano.
Set a wide and shallow frying pan over medium heat and fill with vegetable oil until it is ½-cm deep across the bottom of the pan.
Breading and Frying Eggplant
Pat eggplant rounds dry with paper towels. Take each round and coat it in the flour mixture before shaking off the excess flour and dipping it in the egg mixture. Lift up the piece so the excess egg drips off, and place the round in the breadcrumb mixture, tossing the piece in the breadcrumbs to evenly coat it. Set the breaded round aside and repeat with the remaining rounds.
Test that the oil is hot enough by putting a small pinch of breadcrumb in the oil and seeing if it sizzles immediately and rises to the top of the oil. If it does not, increase the heat on the pan until it does. If the breadcrumb sizzles intensely and browns in under a minute, lower the temperature until a new breadcrumb sizzles moderately, rises to the surface, and takes more than a minute to brown.
Once oil is ready, fry the breaded eggplant rounds in a single layer in the pan, working in batches as needed. Allow to fry until the underside is golden brown before carefully flipping each piece with a fork to allow the other side to fry. Once completely golden brown, transfer to a wire rack set in a tray or a plate covered in paper towels. Sprinkle each hot piece with an additional pinch of salt and repeat the process until all eggplant rounds are fried and salted.
Assembling Sandwich
Cut each focaccia square or pide portion in half widthwise, creating a top and bottom piece. Open up the sandwich and spread 20g pasta sauce across the bottom piece. Put two of the eggplant rounds (or three small ones) on top of the sauce, covering the entire surface. You can add another 10g pasta sauce on top of these pieces if you want an extra saucy sandwich. Then layer about 85g of the thick sliced mozzarella on top of the eggplant. Cover the mozzarella with 4 basil leaves, and close the sandwich with the top piece.
Repeat with remaining bread and filling ingredients. We recommend toasting the sandwich for just a few minutes in a 200°C oven, or you can just enjoy it fresh.
