Fried Eggplant Sandwich Sicilian-Style

This fried eggplant sandwich has been my favourite one since I was a kid, or at least since I first tried it. The one I used to eat was actually simpler than this. It only featured 3 ingredients: a warm Sicilian mafalda roll, plenty of  just fried aubergine slices and pre-packed cheese slices.

So why do I like this simple sandwich so much?

What to expect: bite into a crunchy panino that’s soft on the inside, and immediately taste the powerful yet elegant fried eggplant followed by that delicious cheesy flavour.

If you love eggplant you’ll want to eat this all the time, good thing we are making a healthier version of my childhood recipe (my mum would fry the eggplant in much more oil but we are only lightly pan frying it).

Eggplant in Italian

The Italian name for eggplant is melanzana (singular) and melanzane (plural).

Yet, melanzana is not the original name of this vegetable. Apparently, it was called vazhVt in India where it originated from. From there it was brought to Europe by the Arabs, who used to call it badinjan.

All the European languages created their own version of the name starting from the Arab badinjian. In Italy, it was initially called petonciana or petronciana.

Later, because aubergine was actually considered a food that caused ilness, both physical and mental, it was often referred to as mela non sana. The latter means an unhealthy apple.

We can clearly see the resemblance between the modern name melanzana and the old way of referring to it mela non sana.

Finally, as this recipe is Sicilian, you may want to know what’s Sicilian for eggplant. The term in the local dialect is mulinciana.

Aubergine in Italian cuisine

Thankfully, Italians ignored those bad connotations and started cooking with this delicious vegetable.

The regions that produce and eat more of it are the regions in the South, due to the fact that they were more heavily influenced by the Arab culture, and they are also closer to Turkey and Egypt which are the top consumers of melanzana in Europe.

The Italian regions I am referring to are Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, and Lazio. Sicily is definitely the region that has the most popular recipes featuring this veggie.

Let’s look at their most delicious and traditional recipes featuring this veggie.

                         Parmigiana                                                        Pizza alla Norma

                           Caponata                                                         Pasta alla Norma

Top 10 Sicilian recipes using melanzana

1. Pasta alla Norma
2. Caponata – a mix of eggplant, celery, onions, olives and a sweet and sour reduction
3. Parmigiana di melanzane
4. Melanzane a beccafico – rolls of eggplant stuffed with raisins, pine nuts, grated pecorino, herbs and breadcrumbs
5. Grilled and marinated – the marinate is made with white vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, fresh chilli, garlic and a mix of fresh herbs
6. Pasta with swordfish and aubergine
7. Pesto di melanzane
8. Pizza con melanzane
9. Melanzane imbottite, in dialect ammuttunate, which means stuffed
10. Cotolette di melanzane – made following this recipe but replacing the beef with thick slices of melanzane

Other Popular Recipes with Melanzana from the other Italian regions

• Stuffed aubergines with ground meat from Calabria
• Vegetarian stuffed aubergines from Puglia
• Orecchiette with melanzane from Puglia
• Melanzane alla pullastiello from Naples – stuffed with salami and provola, then breaded and fried
• Melanzane a funghetti – a side dish with cubed aubergines and tomatoes from Campania
• Stuffed Melanzane alla Romana

                   Stuffed Aubergines                                            Marinated Aubergines

How to make fried aubergine?

The classic way to make it follows these 10 steps below:

1. Wash and peel the vegetable
2. Cut it into thick round slices
3. Place the slices into large bowls (you’ll need more than a bowl, depending on how many melanzane you are using)
4. Sprinkle a lot of salt and fill the bowls with water
5. Top the bowl with a plate that fits perfectly
6. Use a heavy object to place on the plate and apply pressure on the sliced vegetables
7. Leave for 1 to 2hrs or at least 40 minutes. Then use the plate to help you squeeze the water out of the bowls
8. Rinse the slices and dry
9. Fry in a pan with enough extra virgin olive oil to allow the slices of eggplant to absorb it
10. Use a perforated spoon to lift them up when ready, so you can get rid of any excess oil; and transfer them to rest on a few sheets of clean kitchen roll. That helps eliminate more of the excess oil.

Other notes on cooking aubergines

Aubergines that are cooked this way can be used for many fried aubergine recipes, including the panino we are making today but also parmigiana, pasta alla norma, and pizza with eggplant.

You can also use this fried eggplant recipe but cut the vegetable into cubes and use less oil to fry it. This is what we are doing today to make this recipe healthier.

Cubed eggplant can be used for the other recipes I mentioned above, including the pasta with swordfish and the melanzane a funghetto.

You can also go ahead and make your own recipe using this vegetable and featuring your favourite Italian ingredients. You could make a fried aubergine salad with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls, a fried aubergine pasta with other garden vegetables, fried eggplant lasagna with or without meat, and even eggplant fried with a crispy breading.

What goes with aubergine?

Cheese goes with aubergine, especially one that’s stringy and can melt well.

Tomatoes are another match made in heaven, whether raw or cooked into a sauce.

Ground beef and swordfish are great proteins to pair with it.

Peppers, onions, carrots, celery, olives, garlic are amazing to complement its flavour.

Many fresh herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, but also marjoram, mint and parsley go deliciously with this.

Bread, breadcrumbs, pasta, and bready doughs like pizza and focaccia are the perfect base for the vegetable.

And in terms of condiments, the simple extra virgin olive oil is the best pairing. However, there are traditional recipes that also use white vinegar.

Sicilian Sandwich Ingredients

Speaking of what goes well with this tasty nightshade (nightshades are its plant family), here are the 5 ingredients you’ll need to make today’s recipe.

Eggplant, of course

Bread roll, similar to the one we are using or any other you like (ciabatta, or a crunchy bread like a baguette also go well)

Cheese slices like emmental or fontina

Basil or oregano, fresh or dry

Tomatoes

On top of that you’ll need these three pantry staples: salt, black pepper and a high quality extra virgin olive like Belmorso EVOO.

If you are wondering which Sicilian bread goes best with this recipe, that’s a mafalda or a ferro di cavallo. The latter are durum wheat bread rolls sprinkled with sesame seeds. They are very crunchy, especially if you buy them when they have just come out of the oven or you reheat them. On the inside, though they are pillowy and soft.

Now that you know what you need from the store, here’s the recipe to make it.

Fried Eggplant Sandwich Sicilian-style

Fried eggplant, gooey melted cheese and a soft yet crunchy bread are the main ingredients of this amazing Sicilian sandwich.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2

Calories 750 kcal

Equipment

• 1 chopping knife
• 1 chopping board
• 1 large bowl
• 1 small or medium plate
• 1 heavy object like a can of lentils
• 1 small pan
• 1 large pan or medium pot

Ingredients

  

• 2 large eggplants
• 2 medium bread rolls
• 6 slices Emmental cheese
• Belmorso Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 large tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• dry or fresh oregano or basil

Instructions

 

• Wash and peel your eggplant.
  
• Then, slice into thick slices and cut each slice into 4. If you want to deep fry them, you can keep your slices whole.
  
• Put the cut vegetable in a large bowl and sprinkle with plenty of salt.
  
• Fill the bowl with water till the top, and cover with a plate that fits into the bowl on top of the cut slices or triangles.
  
• Then take a heavy object, like a can of lentils, and place it on top of the plate to apply pressure. That will help keep the slices submerged in the salted water to remove the bitterness as well as the excess water inside of the vegetable. Wait at least 40 minutes but preferably 1 to 2 hours.
  
• When the allocated time has passed, proceed by draining the vegetables. You can use the plate to press the salted water out of the bowl. Then rinse the slices and squeeze any excess water out.
• It's suggested to pat dry the slices so they cook crispier. Feel free to do this or skip it.
• Next, add the eggplant to a pot or large pan, drizzle with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil and put on the stove to cook at medium heat. Make sure to mix them from time to time so they don't stick to the bottom.
  
• Alternatively, you can deep fry them into a medium large pan with more extra virgin olive oil. This will take a little longer as you need to leave enough space between each slice, plus it will have more calories.
• While your aubergine cooks, you can slice your tomatoes.
  
• Next, slice your bread.
  
• Take a pan and grill your tomato slices for a few minutes. This way, they will be warm and a little crispy on the outside.
  
• Don't forget to season your vegetables with salt and pepper, and mix well.
• When your aubergines are nearly ready, grill your bread in the oven or in a pan on both sides.
• It's now time to assemble your sandwiches.
• Start with a slice or two of cheese at the bottom.
  
• Then pack your roll with plenty of fried aubergines.
  
• Follow with a generous sprinkle of dried oregano. You can use dry basil or fresh if you prefer.
• Top with the sliced of tomatoes.
  
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Top with the last slice or two of cheese, and cover with the top of the bread roll.
• Press the sandwich so that everything amalgamates and the cheese keeps melting.
  
• Put yours on a plate, sit down, and start eating it. So delicious, right? Buon appetito!
  

Notes

The calories are for the pan fried version of this recipe, including two slices of cheese on a medium bread roll. You'll need to account for another 200 calories or more for the deep fried version. Once in a while, I'd say it's ok to indulge in the latter.

Keyword fried, panini, Sicilian, vegetarian

Variations of this recipe

Feel free to tweak this recipe as you like. Here are some common variations.

• Baked eggplant sandwich with the vegetable baked in the oven instead of fried
• Fried eggplant mozzarella panino with mozzarella instead of the sliced cheese
• Vegan roasted eggplant sandwich using a vegan cheese
• Fried eggplant tomato sauce panino parmigiana style

Other Sandwiches to Try

If you stumbled upon this recipe, it means that you adore sandwiches. Well, us Italians do too :).

Have a look at these other Italian sandwiches on the blog.

1. Ham Sandwich of Dreams
2. Sausage panino from Puglia

Is it worth salting aubergine? and other questions

Author: Alessia