Grilled Eggplant Provencal Panini

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 2
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 small globe eggplant, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices (4-6 oz.)
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 semolina rolls, split (or 4 slices semolina bread, 1/2-inch thick)
• 4 tablespoons tapenade
• 3 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
• 4 thin slices tomatoes (ripe but firm)

Recipe

• 1 preheat the sandwich grill.
• 2 in a small bowl, stir the olive oil and garlic together.
• 3 brush both sides of the eggplant slices with 1 tablespoon of the garlic oil.
• 4 put the eggplant in the grill; close the top plate, and cook until the eggplant is tender and grill marked, 3-5 minutes.
• 5 season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 6 transfer to a plate and set aside (the eggplant can be grilled up to 3 hours ahead and kept at room temperature, or covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours; if refrigerating, return to room temperature before assembling the panini).
• 7 keep the sandwich grill on and wipe clean the grill plates.
• 8 place the rolls, cut side down, on a work surface and brush the crust sides of the rolls with the remaining 1 tablespoon garlic oil.
• 9 turn and spread cut sides of the rolls with tapenade, dividing it evenly, then layer 1/4 of the cheese, half of the eggplant, and 2 tomato slices over the tapenade on the bottom half of each roll.
• 10 divide the remaining cheese on top.
• 11 cover with the top halves of the rolls, tapenade side down, and press to pack gently.
• 12 place the panini in the grill, close the top plate, and cook until the bread is golden and toasted, the eggplant is hot, and the cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes.
• 13 cut each sandwich in half on the diagonal and serve immediately.