Healthy lunch recipes: Eggplant sandwiches

Sicilian Eggplant

More eggplant food writing and recipes?  Absolutely.  It is after all a universally well known and frequently used vegetable in practically every cuisine all over the world. The plant is native to India, it has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory and is well known to the Western world. “The first known written record of the plant is in an ancient Chinese agricultural treatise completed in 544. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of the ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate that it was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Ages .”  [ref: Wikipedia]

Eggplant sandwich w/ 4 Italian cheeses

When we hear “healthy lunch recipes” we tend to conjure up images of bland salads with an abundance of carrot and celery sticks. However, a little creativity and the right ingredients will be rewarded with a healthy and satisfying lunch that is also interesting and easy to make. Being Sicilian, I have always used eggplant in many traditional Italian and Sicilian dishes, and I’ve also created many of my own recipes over the years. I’d like to share one with you for easy and tasty eggplant sandwiches.

Ingredients: 
1 medium eggplant, evenly sliced into 1/2″ rounds
1 egg plus 1/4 cup half-and-half or milk mixed in a deep dish
1 cup + low-fat shredded Italian cheese, like asiago, provolone, mozzarella, romano
1 cup baby spinach or arugula, destemmed and cut into strips or coarsely shredded
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Olive oil for sauteeing the eggplant slices
Flour and fine seasoned breadcrumbs for dusting the eggplant
Fresh ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes
Cayenne pepper

Slice a medium eggplant into even 1/2″ round slices. Sprinkle with salt and let drain in a  colander for several hours. When the eggplant juices have drained, pat dry the slices and dust each side with flour and breadcrumbs, then coat well with the egg and milk mixture. In a large frying pan, saute the eggplant slices in olive oil until golden brown, but not too soft. Drain on paper towels. Preheat the oven to 350º. Place half of the eggplant slices on a baking tray and top with the shredded cheeses, spinach or arugula, tomato sauce. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and black pepper and cover each with the remaning eggplant slices, and press down gently to create a sandwich. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and serve hot. For a real big appetite, the eggplant sandwich can be served on a toasted bun or on a slice of bread. Open wide!!

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