One thing I’ve learned over the last 10 years (!) is that people have pretty divided opinions about eggplant. Some people think it’s the best especially when it’s at its eggplant-iest others don’t care what you do with it they’ll never be converted but even the most eggplant-ambivalent can agree on one thing: eggplant parmesan is the best. I however am the one who’s ambivalent about it. Taking beautiful coins of eggplant batter and frying them to a deep and well-seasoned golden brown crispy crust only to bury them in texture-destroying amounts of sauce and melted cheese just feels wrong to me and disrespectful to the labor and calories that go into deliciously fried foods. (I feel the same way about fries heaped with sauces and gravies. Unfollow me now!)
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 Food Network | 2020-04-02 14:04:29 |  334,705 Views |
Roasted Eggplant with Parmesan with Ina Garten | Barefoot Contessa: Cook Like a Pro | Food Network
All of those concerns go away though when you make a sub what we called hoagies/heroes/grinders in my part of New Jersey when I was growing up. The eggplant parm sub is a far too small category of great veggie sandwiches* and I don’t know when they went out of style but I don’t see them that often anymore. The texture of the eggplant is less compromised than in a casserole and there’s so much more to it from a seeded sandwich (it has to be seeded; don’t even ask). I find that you can even compromise on the eggplant itself (baking breaded eggplant instead of frying it or toasting coins without breading) and not feel like you’re missing out.
Not that we compromised on Friday night. No I did the whole thing the panko the olive oil in the pan the good bread and it could have been wonderfully over-the-top except for one thing: the top slice of bread. By removing the ceiling of the sub the sub becomes a blistered incredible and not-at-all-soggy melt-in-your-mouth dish and yet somehow not so heavy that you immediately need a nap. If you have even the slightest doubt about making these this week close your browser now because you can’t just have a recipe like this on your screen with friends/family/roommates around and not expect them to offer favors in return for bringing it to life.
* Can we talk about other great veggie sandwiches? This broccoli melt is one of mine as is this smashed chickpea salad and the ratatouille sub in the first cookbook. But I always need more. What are some of your unexpected favorites?
