This crispy, Italian style favorite excels at vegan. Batter fried eggplant, pesto, marinara, and vegan parmesan with fresh basil and a bit of lemon. All grilled to perfection.
Ingredients
1 medium eggplant
1 cup chickpea flour
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
8 to 10 oz. club soda
Sliced bread (we recommend sourdough)
Vegan butter or olive oil
Olive oil (for frying)
Pesto
Marinara sauce
½ tsp. salt
¼ to ½ cup vegan parmesan
Spritz of fresh lemon juice
Fresh basil, for topping sandwich
Instructions
- Slice eggplant into rounds, about ¼ to ½ inch thick.
- Add chickpea flour, garlic powder, ¼ cup vegan parmesan, salt, and 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning to a large bowl. Add club soda and whisk until well combined.
- In a separate dish, combine panko breadcrumbs and remaining Italian seasoning.
- Coat eggplant rounds in the chickpea mixture first, then the panko, and set aside.
- Heat a pan with ¼ inch olive oil and fry eggplant rounds until batter is crispy and golden brown. Set on a plate with a towel to absorb excess oil. Grate additional parmesan on top of rounds if desired.
- Lightly oil (or vegan butter) the outside of your bread slices. Spread pesto on the inside of one slice of bread per sandwich. Place eggplant rounds on the pesto slice and cover each of them liberally with marinara sauce. Top rounds with fresh basil, and a little spritz of lemon juice. You can throw on a little extra vegan parmesan here too, optionally. Grill in a panini press or pan until bread is golden brown.
One medium eggplant serves three to four.
