Grilled Eggplant Panini Recipes

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

BASIC GRILLED PANINI

Steps:

• Drizzle olive oil on 1 side of each bread slice. Spread 1 tablespoon mayonnaise on the other side of each slice. Pile Cheddar cheese, ham, tomato, and onion on top. Top with other bread slice, mayonnaise side down.
• Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat; spray lightly with cooking spray. Place sandwich on grill; weigh it down with a heavy pan. Cook until cheese is melted and grill marks appear, 3 to 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 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 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 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 CAPONATA PANINI

Steps:

• To prepare vegetables, preheat grill to medium-high (about 450°F). Coat first 6 ingredients with cooking spray; arrange on grill grate. Grill green onions 2 minutes; remove from grill and chop. Grill remaining vegetables 5 more minutes, turning occasionally. Remove stems and seeds from bell peppers; discard. Reserve 4 bell peppers and 4 red onion wedges; cut remaining vegetables into 2-inch pieces.
• Place chopped green onions, oil, juice, 1 tablespoon water, salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and garlic in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine grilled vegetables and green onion mixture in a bowl. Reserve 4 cups vegetable mixture for Farro Burrito Bowls and Grilled Vegetable Frittata.
• To prepare panini, place reserved 4 bell peppers and 4 red onion wedges in food processor with olives, capers, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and ground red pepper; process until smooth. Hollow out top and bottom halves of rolls, leaving a 1/2-inch-thick shell. Spread bell pepper mixture over bottom halves of rolls; top with remaining grilled vegetables, mozzarella, basil, and top halves of rolls.
• Coat grill grate with cooking spray. Place 2 sandwiches on grill; top with a cast-iron skillet. Grill 2 minutes on each side or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 sandwiches.

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.

ARTICHOKE AND EGGPLANT PANINI

Steps:

• Prepare a gas grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-high heat; see grilling procedure .
• Pulse artichokes, mayonnaise, capers, and garlic in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
• Trim off a thin slice from 2 opposite long sides of eggplant, then cut eggplant lengthwise into 4 (1/3-inch-thick) slices. Brush both sides of slices with 2 tablespoons oil (total) and season with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
• Grill eggplant slices, covered, turning once and brushing grilled sides with 1 tablespoon oil (total), until golden-brown and tender, about 4 minutes, then transfer to a tray.
• Brush both sides of bread with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and grill, covered, without turning, until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes.
• Top each of 4 bread slices, grilled sides up, with cheese and an eggplant slice. Spread artichoke mixture on remaining 4 bread slices, grilled sides up, then assemble sandwiches.
• Put sandwiches on grill and press down with a metal spatula, then grill, turning once, until heated through and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes total.