Heirloom Eggplant Sandwiches

     To me, summertime is when I can lay out piles of veggies, meat, cheese and some fresh bread on the table and call it dinner. Maybe some condiment like Hummus or Tzatziki if I'm feeling up to it. The point is something tasty, satisfying and easy to prepare.

These oh-so-satisfying sandwiches were the by product of one such dinner. I had grilled some eggplant steaks and made some Tzatziki for dinner, and the only logical conclusion was to stuff it in a pita and groan with delight.

I use heirloom eggplants because they are pretty, and their skin tends to be more delicate so you don't need to peel them. They also run smaller, so its easy to find one that fits your quantity needs. Check your local Farmers Market June through August.

For Sandwiches You Will Need:

Pita bread, 1 whole round per person. A round makes two sandwiches.


1-2 Large, very sweet tomato. Romas and orange-red Heirlooms recommended. Sliced.

1  .5lb  Heirloom Eggplant per person. This translates to one small eggplant for one person, a medium eggplant for two people etc.

Salt

Olive Oil

Tzatziki (Recipe to follow)


First you must prepare your eggplant. Chop off the top and then slice it in 1/4 inch slabs from top to bottom. I discard the end pieces that are all peel and no meat. Place slabs in a bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

While the salt dries out your eggplant, place a griddle or skillet over med-high heat. Its hot enough when you sprinkle water on and it sizzles and pops.

Rinse your eggplant and pat dry.

Add 2 tsp. Olive oil to your hot skillet. Place eggplant slabs on skillet right away. Now don't touch it for at least 1 minute. If you do, the eggplant will not brown properly and will fall apart. Really, don't touch it. I almost always find this impossible to do.

After 1 minute, pry up a corner of an eggplant piece to see if it has browned. Should be a nice dark caramel color, or even slightly singed on the edges. If it is brown, flip it over and cook the other side. If it sticks, leave it for 30 more seconds. Remember, don't mess with it. After another minute or so on other side,and they should begin to look a bit translucent. Add a dash of salt and a drizzle of olive oil if they look dry, and place eggplant on a plate; or straight into a pita if your one of those cooks who's really on top of things. I like to warm my pitas up in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees.

Add slices of tomato, liberal amounts of Tzatziki and a dash of Cayenne. Eat while the eggplant is still warm.

To Make Tzatziki:
I wish I could say I had some really cool Greek grandmother who taught me to make this when I was still crawling, but alas, such is not the case. I invented the recipe after getting sick of buying the stuff at Trader Joes. And yes, mine is better. Grating the Garlic I learned from my friend Neha.

1 Medium to large cucumber, peeled. Ish. If your into that sort of thing.

1/3 cup plain, full fat yogurt

1/2 lemon

2 Cloves garlic

1 tsp dry Dill

Salt

Dash or two of Cayenne
 

Quarter and de-seed your cucumber. Thinly slice quarters. Place in bowl. Peel garlic cloves and finely chop, or easier: grate them over the cucumber. Don't be tempted to go crazy with the garlic, its pretty hot when raw. Warning, this is a dish your honey must share with you, or they will never kiss you again.

Squeeze lemon half over the garlic and cucumbers. Always be sure to add the lemon first so that the yogurt does not curdle. Add dill and yogurt. Mix together. I add the yogurt in a spoon at a time so it doesn't get too soupy, but the end result should be decidedly saucy. Add more yogurt if this is not the case.

Add salt, cayenne and more dill to taste. Slather on anything remotely Mediterranean.

xoxo