I love Pinterest and have been using it a lot lately for recipes. I found a very interesting recipe for eggplant grilled cheese, using eggplant instead of bread. I thought this was a very creative idea for a low-carb lunch. I also love eggplant and rarely make it because Marc doesn't like it. But I had the perfect excuse as we got some Italian eggplant in our CSA this week. It was the perfect compromise. We would both get grilled cheese in our own ways, his would be the more traditional version. The thing that I didn't like about the original recipe is that it added more steps than necessary for such a simple lunch. It also calls for 1/4 cup of oil! Eggplant will absorb any oil you put near it so I decided to use my oil mister. It was very tasty and although I needed 2 hands to eat it, I will definitely be making this again.
Serves 1.
ww = 5 points (if you make it without the bacon it will be 2!!)
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated
cherry tomatoes, sliced into 4 pieces
2 slices bacon, cooked
olive oil mister
Directions:
1. Cut the ends off the eggplant and slice lengthwise into 1/4" thick slices. (Mine ended up being about 6 slices. I cooked all of them and saved the remaining slices for later).
2. Heat a cast iron grill pan (I used my creuset) until hot. Spray a light mist of olive on the pan.
3. Sear the eggplant and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until the eggplant is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and cool.
4. Place 1/2 cheese, bacon, tomatoes, and remaining cheese onto one piece of eggplant. Cover with other piece off eggplant. Carefully place the sandwich into a flat non-stick frying pan (I used my ScanPan) and cover it with a lid. Heat over medium-low heat until the cheese is melted.
I served it with a simple kale salad which had fresh sea salt, black pepper, a dash of parmesan cheese, and freshly squeezed lemon.
Oh man, im sorry I missed this being done live. I may have to try it. When I do my eggplant parm I salt the slices for a bit (then rinse) to get rid of that eggplanty bitterness, do you do the same for this?
ReplyDeleteHow does it compare to a regular grilled cheese?
There is nothing like real grilled cheese with white toast. But if you want to try something a little healthier it is a good alternative. I did not salt my eggplant, I just sliced it and used it right away. I did not find it to be bitter at all. Though I do recall my dad salting and compressing eggplant as a kid. I doubt it would hurt if that's what you prefer.
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