Matt Romero's Eggplant "Sandwiches"

Matt Romero's Eggplant "Sandwiches"

***Susan's Note: Can you tell I'm on summer vacation? 2 cakes and these 'sandwiches' all in one day? :) I loved the look of these sandwiches in Real Simple magazine, especially because I'm a big fan of good eggplant and goat cheese. These are NOT healthy! But they were great. I used roasted red peppers instead of tomatoes because my husband doesn't like them. Make sure you SALT your eggplant, and use garlic herb goat cheese - much tastier than plain.***

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 30m
Total Time: 30m

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 medium eggplant (1 to 1 1/2 pounds), cut into eight 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1/2 cup canola oil
kosher salt
4 leaves romaine lettuce, torn in half
2 medium beefsteak or other tomatoes (about 1 pound), sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions
Place the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip the eggplant slices in the flour, then in the eggs (letting any excess drip off), and finally in the bread crumbs, pressing gently to help them adhere.
Heat half the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half the eggplant until golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a paper towel–lined plate. Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining oil and eggplant. Sprinkle the hot eggplant with ½ teaspoon salt.
Layer the eggplant, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, and goat cheese to form 4 "sandwiches," with the eggplant on the top and bottom of each stack.
By Matt Romero, July 2010

Kosher salt enhances the flavor of foods rather than making them salty.
Nutritional Information
Per Serving
Calories 549
Fat 40g
Sat Fat 9g
Cholesterol 128mg
Sodium 448mg
Protein 15g
Carbohydrate 36g
Sugar 7g
Fiber 7g
Iron 2mg
Calcium 126mg