Eggplant sandwiches with tomato and mozzarella are a tasty and impressive appetizer, which you can prepare in a few easy steps and customize to your liking by choosing different cooking methods for the eggplants: I used golden fried eggplants, but for a lighter recipe, you can also opt for roasted eggplants, grilled eggplants, or breaded eggplants baked in the oven. The eggplants are layered with slices of tomato and mozzarella and stacked to form a sort of club sandwich. At this point, to melt the mozzarella, you can choose between using the traditional oven or the microwave oven: in both cases, it will only take a few minutes to bring to the table an original and delightful appetizer, perfect for a summer dinner!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven, Microwave
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Fall
Ingredients for 4 Eggplant Sandwiches
- 12 slices eggplants (fried golden, or grilled or roasted)
- 2 tomatoes
- 3.5 oz mozzarella
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste basil
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Plate microwave-safe
- 1 Microwave oven
- 4 Toothpicks
How to Prepare Eggplant Sandwiches with Tomato and Mozzarella
To prepare the eggplant sandwiches with tomato and mozzarella, first, you must cook the eggplant slices: you can fry them golden (1), as I did, by following this recipe. Alternatively, you can grill them, or roast them in the oven. Wash the tomato and cut it into thin slices (2). Also, cut the mozzarella into thin slices (3) and let it drain so that it’s not overly watery (3).
Take a slice of eggplant and place a slice of tomato on it (4). Salt it lightly and add a slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf (5). Cover with another slice of eggplant (6).
Fill this layer too with tomato, a pinch of salt, a slice of mozzarella, and a basil leaf (7). Close with another slice of eggplant and secure the sandwich with a wooden toothpick (8).
Continue in the same way with the other three eggplant sandwiches. At this point, if you decide to use the traditional oven, place the sandwiches on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake them at 392°F for 5-6 minutes, just enough time for the mozzarella to melt slightly. If you use the microwave oven, place the eggplant sandwiches on a microwave-safe plate and cook them at 200 W for about 2 minutes. In this case too, it is sufficient that the mozzarella is melted (9). Serve the eggplant sandwiches with tomato and mozzarella immediately, as an appetizing and different appetizer.
Storage
If there are leftovers, you can store the eggplant sandwiches in the refrigerator for a couple of days and briefly reheat them in the oven or microwave before serving.
Tips and Variations
With the same recipe, you can make zucchini sandwiches using round zucchinis.
