Za’atar Fried Eggplant Sandwich
Za’atar Fried Eggplant Sandwich
Serves 8
Fried Eggplant
3 medium eggplant, ½-¾ inch slices
Salt
Breading mixtures
a.) 1 ½ cups bread crumbs seasoned with 2 tablespoons za’atar and 1 teaspoon salt
b. ) ¾ cup all purpose flour seasoned with 1 tablespoon za’atar and 1 teaspoon salt
c.) 2 eggs whisked with ½ cup water
Vegetable oil
Muhammara
The Building Blocks
1 large loaf ciabatta bread
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 head iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
1 jar kosher dill pickle sandwich slices
1 jar garlic stuffed olives
4 balls burrata cheese
8 decorative toothpicks or skewers
Olive oil
Pomegranate molasses
Instructions
Prepare the muhammara, and chop all building block veggies. Set aside.
To make the fried eggplant, generously season both sides of the sliced eggplant with salt. Let sit for 15 - 30 minutes. The eggplant will begin to sweat and release water. Once the time is up, rinse the slices and pat very dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
Heat half an inch of vegetable oil in a heavy bottom walled saute pan over medium heat. Prepare a draining place by covering a baking tray with a few layers of paper towel to catch the excess oil.
Set up your breading station starting with a.) the flour mixture, followed by b.) the egg mixture, finishing with c.) the breadcrumb mixture. One by one, dip the eggplant in the flour, coat well, shake the excess, then move to the egg. Coat in egg, drain the excess, then place in the breadcrumbs. Completely coat, shake the excess, then carefully place the eggplant in the hot oil. Fry in batches until both sides are golden to medium brown. Move to the paper towel and let cool slightly.
To assemble the sandwich, slice the ciabatta in half like a hamburger bun. Spread a generous layer of the muhammara on the bottom half. Top with eggplant, then use the following build order going up from the eggplant… pickle slices, torn pieces of burrata, a generous amount of shredded iceberg, and red onion. Finish with a healthy drizzle of both olive oil and pomegranate molasses. Cover with the top piece of bread. Skewer 8 olives with the fancy toothpicks, and place in the sandwich evenly spaced 2 rows of 4. Cut the sandwich into 8 pieces (each piece gets an olive skewer) and serve.
