I made a sandwich yesterday. It was a gigantic sandwich. It seems to have weighed about four pounds and you know what? It was marvelous. I found the recipe in a Hannaford “Fresh” magazine and I couldn’t wait to put it together. It consisted of roasted eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and a very nice white bean and artichoke spread. The best part was that I put all these ingredients on a huge loaf of bread, which is one of the reasons why the sandwich seemed to weigh so much. The other best part was that it lasted two nights for dinner. Now that’s the kind of sandwich I like.
The Recipe
This recipe touched on all the right flavors for a sandwich like this. A bit of garlic is infused into some extra-virgin olive oil and then spread on the toasted bread and brushed onto the eggplant before it’s roasted. Also, you can’t go wrong with roasted peppers. If I could, I’d eat those every day. The artichoke and bean spread is incredible and after the sandwich is topped off with some ripe tomatoes and parsley, it’s just perfect. And filling. Did I mention filling? And tasty? It’s so good.
Ingredients
Makes: 2 Huge Sandwiches
2 Medium Sized Eggplant, Ends Trimmed and Cut into 1/2 Inch Rounds
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
1 Cup Canned Cannellini Beans, Rinsed
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon White Wine Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
1 Cup Artichoke Hearts, Rinsed
1 12-Ounce Jar Roasted Red Peppers, Sliced
1 Large Tomatoes, Thinly Sliced
1/2 Cup Parsley Leaves
2 Large Rolls
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank Hannaford for their Fresh magazine. I’ve been using a lot of recipes from this publication and have been very happy with them.
Prep the Eggplant
This step is meant to remove some liquid from the eggplant slices. To do this, you’ll need to place some wire racks on top of a baking sheet and then spread the eggplant rounds on those wire racks. Then, very lightly sprinkle some salt on top of the eggplant and let them sit for about a half hour. During this time, some of the liquid should drip out, onto the baking sheet. Pat the eggplant dry with some paper towels.
Pre-Heat Oven
About half way through the first step, arrange your oven racks so one of them is in the center position. Then, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Prep Garlic Oil & Roast the Eggplant
Add 1/4 cup of olive oil to a bowl and then add the garlic to that bowl as well. Microwave the oil and garlic mixture for 30 seconds or until the oil becomes warm enough to pull some of the flavor from the garlic. After that, brush the eggplant slices with about two tablespoons of the oil and place them on a clean baking sheet. Put the baking sheet into the oven and let the eggplant roast for 20 minutes or until it softens up, but is still firm enough to be handled. When finished, remove the tray from the oven, but leave the heat on.
Toast the Bread
Brush one tablespoon of oil onto the insides of the bread slices and then place the bread on the oven rack for a few minutes, until they begin to toast. When they brown somewhat, remove them from the oven and turn off the heat.
Prepare the Bean & Artichoke Spread
Add the beans, artichoke, remaining olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, hot sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to a food processor. Pulse the processor a few times until everything is broken down, but not completely pulverized.
Assemble the Sandwich
Spread the bean and artichoke mixture across the insides of all pieces of bread. Then, arrange the roasted red peppers as the first layer of goodness.
Next, arrange the eggplant slices on top of the peppers.
Finally, top the eggplant with the tomato slices and parsley.
Place the remaining pieces of bread on top of that and the sandwich is finished.
Plate & Serve
Slice the sandwiches up with a sharp knife and serve. Enjoy!
The Final Roasted Eggplant Sandwich
As you can see, this sandwich is much more than just roasted eggplant. Actually my favorite part of it was the garlic oil and the white bean and artichoke spread. Those elements tasted so good and added a lot of flair. Anyway, if you do decide to give this recipe a try, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
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