Caprese Eggplant Grilled Cheese

White Sauce

There is nothing more comforting than a grilled cheese sandwich. I recently ate at a local restaurant which served a mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich—to say the least I was very disappointed with the results. I decided that the concept was good so I went home and created my own version of their sandwich which came out great. This is an Ideal sandwich for that special lunch or an informal dinner. Just think of a grilled cheese sandwich stuffed with mozzarella, eggplant, roasted tomato, and a homemade white pesto sauce.

Makes 4 Sandwiches

1 Baked Eggplant Recipe

8 slices Pepperidge Farms Hearty White Bread*

1 -2 Lg Ripe Tomatos (sliced ¼ inch thick)

Salt

8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella (sliced into 8 slices)

3 TBS Butter (room temperature)

White Sauce *

¼ C Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ tsp Basil Pesto

Pinch of Salt

Prepare the Baked Eggplant according to my recipe on this blog.

In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt and the olive oil until smooth and thick. Whisk in the pesto until smooth.

Place the slices of tomato on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with a little salt. You should have eight slices of tomato. Place the tomatoes under the broiler for 5 minutes.

Slice the mozzarella into 8 even slices.

Assembly

Place 2 slices of baked eggplant, tomato and mozzarella on the bottom slice of bread. Spread a teaspoon of white sauce on the other slice of bread, and place it sauce side down on the sandwich. Cover the top of the bread with 1 teaspoon of butter.

Heat a griddle or large frying pan over medium high heat. Place the sandwich, buttered side down, on the hot griddle and spread 1 teaspoon of butter on the other side of the sandwich. Cook until both sides are a golden brown color. Serve hot and watch the mozzarella ooze from the sandwich.

* PRONTO SUBSTITUTE

White Bread – Only use white bread with this sandwich but always use the best quality bread you can find. A fresh baked loaf that is hand sliced thick is best but I also use Pepperidge Farm Country White.

White Sauce – This sauce is a healthy alternative to mayonnaise that adds zest to this sandwich. You can also add ½ tsp pesto to ¼ C of mayonnaise.

White Sauce

I’m a big fan of yogurt and I wanted a sandwich topping that has a savory flavor as an alternative to mayonnaise. By whipping together yogurt, olive oil and pesto I created the savory alternative I was looking for that enhances the flavors of a sandwich.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Caprese Eggplant Grilled Cheese Sandwich.