Eggplant "Sandwiches"

A great new way to make a vegetarian sandwich!  Being that I am a vegetarian and my husband is a meat eater, I am always trying to find recipes that are both vetarian and interesting enough to entice my husband into trying them.  Well, this one was a big hit with both of us, one of our favorites actually.  The eggplant has just enough crispness that you can hold it in your hands like a sandwich (knife and fork optional!).  This recipe uses Panko or Japanese bread crumbs rather than the usual Italian bread crumbs.  Panko bread crumbs only have 40mg of sodium per serving as compared to Italian breadcrumbs with 450mg per serving!  They are a great substitute for any recipe that calls for bread crumbs. 

Enjoy!

Carinne

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 medium eggplant

1/2 cup olive oil

salt

romaine lettuce

2 medium beefsteak tomatoes sliced

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

-Slice eggplant into 1/2" thick rounds

-Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into seperate shallow bowls

-Dip the eggplant into in the flour, then eggs and finally bread crumbs

-Heat oil in nonstick skillet over med/high heat

-Brown eggplant 3 minutes per side

-Transfer to paper towel lined plate & sprinkle with salt

-Assemble sandwiches by layering eggplant, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, goat cheese and top with eggplant

-Makes 4 "sandwiches