grilled cheese sandwich with eggplant

Grilled cheese sandwich with grilled eggplant, gruyere, smoked ham and mint infused honey.

Eggplant in early Autumn are extremely flavored, so my vegetable basket is usually filled with purple shades and barbed stems. I fry them, roast them and grill them, and I usually end up with a few leftovers. If it happens to you as well, and you also have a little gruyere cheese and Italian smoked ham (prosciutto cotto), you can have an eggplant grilled cheese sandwich in minutes.

Add a hint of mint infused honey and you’ll also have a gourmet Italian panino 🙂.

This sandwich is a revival of one of my favorite school lunches. Before my pallavolo (volley) afternoon practice, I would fill up with a ham, eggplant and cheese sandwich from a bar (cafe) near my school. That and an iced tea was heaven for teenager-me! I’ve always been eggplant-obsessed :-).

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eggplant grilled cheese sandwich

Course vegetarian

Cuisine Italian

Servings 1

Author Claudia Rinaldi | Gourmet Project

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon pure honey
• 1 sprig mint
• baguette or crusty Italian bread
• 3-4 slices grilled eggplant you can make them ahead and keep them in the fridge
• 2 slices gruyere cheese
• 2-3 slices thinly sliced smoked ham

Instructions

1. Heat honey and mint in a small pot (or microwave) for less than a minute. Enough to release the herbs aroma.
2. Spread it over the ham and the eggplant.
3. Assembly the sandwich: eggplant slices, ham and cheese.
4. Grill the sandwich (grilling pan or toaster) until the cheese melts down.
5. Do you feel all the sweety and the minty and the crunchy and the creamy?

enjoy your grilled cheese sandwich

Claudia