Marinated Eggplant Sandwich

Sandwiches, salads, and soups are everyday food that can use some twist every once in a while. This marinated eggplant sandwich is one such where the marinated eggplant can be served in a salad form or in a sandwich, and all it takes is a little planning ahead to allow time for marination.

The marinade can be adjusted to taste. Simply pan sauté the eggplant slices till cooked but firm, not mushy. Then marinate for an hour at least. If not sauteing, the raw eggplant slices can be marinated for up to 6 hours or overnight.

Drain gently and assemble in a sandwich with other favorite ingredients like red onions, lettuce, fresh mozzarella, red bell peppers and such. I usually sauté and marinate the red onions as well as roasted red bell peppers for extra flavor.

Fresh mozzarella complements the acidic flavor the vegetables pick up from the marinade, but, any other favorite cheese would be fine, or none at all.

I used a simple spread made from plain cream cheese and home-made sun-dried tomatoes thokku, but, any favorite spread would be fine with this sandwich.

Ingredients
Long chinese eggplant or medium globe eggplant cut into ¼ inch slices
red onions, sliced as desired
tomatoes, sliced
roasted red bell peppers
fresh mozzarella
salt and ground black pepper to taste

for the marinade:
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley, or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2-3 garlic cloves finely minced
a few turns of the pepper mill
1 tsp coarse salt

Preparation

1. pan cook the vegetables till just rawness is gone, but not mushy, remove from pan, arrange in a shallow dish
2. combine the marinade ingredients, whisk well and pour over the veggies, allow to marinate in the fridge for several hours if possible, or at least for an hour
3. for a salad, simply add shavings of Pecorino or Parmesan cheese and serve fairly wet
4. for sandwich, drain the veggies so the sandwich doesn't get soggy, arrange on favorite sourdough-garlic bread or rosemary-potato bread or any other favorite bread slices, and serve with a favorite soup