Best Sandwich Ever and Marinated Eggplant

Best Sandwich Ever.

It’s a big call, and to be honest I’m not sure that what I’m about to share with you completely lives up to that title, HOWEVER, when the bear and I were living in our van we invented this sandwich and put it on high rotation. It therefore has fond memories for us both. We would often (not always) buy the eggplant pre-marinated, but we did also have an awesome cast iron grill pan that we liked to char eggplant and other things with. Then we’d hit up a park or nice spot, get out our little plates, sometimes even set up our little table and chairs and enjoy our lunch.

It’s nothing particularly fancy, but it works. It’s kind of antipasto in a sandwich – tangy and delicious. The sandwich has the following ingredients:

Bread of choice (we used some dumpster-dived bread – rye I think?)
Hummus
Marinated eggplant (recipe to follow)
Spinach
Sundried tomatoes
Basil (if you’re a bit fancy)
Salt and pepper

We did make versions of this sandwich with pesto, and it’s also delicious grilled with some vegan cheese.

Marinated Eggplant

1 medium eggplant
salt for sprinkling
oil for frying
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 chilli, minced
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
salt
pepper

Cut top and base off the eggplant, then slice longways in 5mm pieces. Sprinkle salt over the eggplant and leave in a colander for 30 minutes or so to drain. Rinse and drain.

Heat some oil in a fry pan over medium heat and fry eggplant for a couple of minutes on either side, until slightly browned.

Mix together olive oil, garlic, chili, vinegar and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place eggplant in a small container and pour over marinate. If you can, marinate for 24 hours to allow the eggplant to soak up as much flavour as possible.