Grilled Eggplant Panini Recipes

GRILLED EGGPLANT PANINI WITH BASIL AIOLI

Steps:

• For aioli, place the first 8 ingredients in a blender; cover and process until smooth. , Brush vegetables with oil. Place in broiling pan and broil 3-4 inches from heat, or grill, covered, over medium heat until tender, 4-5 minutes per side. Chop the peppers when cool enough to handle. , Spread cut sides of each roll with 2 tablespoons aioli; top each with cheese. Layer bottoms with eggplant and peppers. Replace tops., In a panini press, grill sandwiches until cheese is melted, 5-7 minutes. Serve remaining aioli with sandwiches or save for another use.

GRILLED VEGETABLE PANINI

Steps:

• Preheat a grill pan over medium heat. Brush the sliced vegetables with 1/4 cup canola oil. Season with salt and pepper and place on the grill. Cook until they have slightly charred and softened slightly, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, Italian seasoning, vinegar, remaining 1/4 cup canola oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle half of the dressing over the grilled vegetables. Stir the chopped olives into the remaining dressing.
• Cut the bread into 4 equal pieces and slice open. Spread the olive dressing evenly on 4 bottom pieces of the bread. Top with a single layer of each of the vegetables, reserving the remaining vegetables for Round 2 Recipe Ratatouille Pasta. Sprinkle the cheese over each and place the remaining 4 bread pieces on top. Place in a panini press and cook until well toasted, about 5 minutes. (Or place on a well-oiled grill pan and place a heavy hot cast-iron skillet or griddle on top of the sandwiches, and grill until the bread is well toasted, about 5 minutes per side.)

GRILLED EGGPLANT PANINI

Steps:

• Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Pat dry and brush lightly with olive oil.
• Preheat a panini grill and place the eggplant slices in it in an even layer. Grill 3 minutes, until cooked through and nicely marked by the grill. Remove from the heat.
• Spread a little pesto on the bottom slice of bread. Top with a layer of eggplant slices, then a layer of pepper or tomato slices. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Top with the grated cheese and the other slice of bread. Brush the outside of both the bottom and the top pieces of bread with olive oil. Grill 5 minutes, or until nicely toasted and the cheese has melted. Remove from the panini grill and cut into halves or thirds, depending on the size of the bread. Serve hot.

GRILLED EGGPLANT PANINI WITH CAMBOZOLA BLUE CHEESE, PROSCIUTTO AND ARUGULA

Steps:

• Heat grill pan to medium-high.
• Heat the olive oil in small pot over medium heat with garlic and rosemary to infuse flavor, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Brush eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, grill 2 to 3 minutes on each side to tenderize. Remove from heat.
• Make sandwiches on split flat breads of 2 slices each eggplant, blue cheese, prosciutto and a handful of arugula.
• Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Choose a second skillet that can fit down inside the first and get a few heavy cans ready to weight skillets. When pan is hot, add 1 flat bread, weight down with second skillet and cans and cook 1 minute, flip, cook a minute more. Repeat process with remaining ingredients and serve.

GRILLED VEGETABLE PANINI

Steps:

• Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the oil over the eggplant, zucchini, and onion slices, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Working in batches, grill the eggplant, zucchini, and onions until they are tender and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes per side. Cool completely.
• Cut each baguette into 6 pieces. Working with one baguette piece at a time, slice in half and spread both sides with the pesto. Working with the bottom slice of the baguette, stack 2 slices of eggplant, 2 slices zucchini, 1 slice onion, 1 slice tomato, 1 slice mozzarella, and 1 slice of roasted pepper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place top half of baguette on top and continue with remaining baguette. (The sandwiches can be made 4 hours ahead. Wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup (about) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• In a blender, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until finely chopped. With the blender still running, gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Yield: 1 cup
• Prep Time: 10 minutes

GRILLED EGGPLANT, ARUGULA AND MOZZARELLA PANINI

Steps:

• Brush eggplant slices with oil on both sides and place in a George Foreman grill--or panini grill-- cook 4 minutes, remove.
• Brush bread slices with oil.
• On 4 slices, oil side down, arrange eggplant, arugula, and mozzarella, top with 4 bread slices oil side up add 2 sandwiches to grill, close and cook 3-4 minutes.
• Repeat.
• Cut sandwiches on diagonal and serve.

GRILLED EGGPLANT PANINI WITH BASIL AIOLI RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat grill or oven to medium heat, about 350°F. If using oven, place rack 3 to 4 inches from heat. For basil aioli, place mayonnaise, basil, Parmesan, chives, salt and pepper in a blender; cover, and process until smooth. Set aside. Brush eggplant and peppers with oil. Roast 3 to 4 inches from broiler or on a covered grill until tender, 4 to 5 minutes per side. When cool enough to handle, chop peppers. Set vegetables aside. Spread cut sides of each Ciabatta roll with 2 tablespoons basil aioli. Top each with 1 slice of cheese. Layer bottom halves of rolls with eggplant and peppers and replace tops. In a Panini press or on the grill, cook the sandwiches until cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve with remaining aioli on the side. Refrigerate leftover aioli for later use.

GRILLED EGGPLANT PROVENCAL PANINI

Steps:

• Preheat the sandwich grill.
• In a small bowl, stir the olive oil and garlic together.
• Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with 1 tablespoon of the garlic oil.
• Put the eggplant in the grill; close the top plate, and cook until the eggplant is tender and grill marked, 3-5 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 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).
• Keep the sandwich grill on and wipe clean the grill plates.
• 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.
• 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.
• Divide the remaining cheese on top.
• Cover with the top halves of the rolls, tapenade side down, and press to pack gently.
• 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.
• Cut each sandwich in half on the diagonal and serve immediately.