Grilled eggplant pairs wonderfully with smoked salmon, roasted red bell pepper & goat cheese
Who says a grilled cheese has to be on bread?
I honestly think it just has to be a cooked sandwich like thing with cheese.
And since I'm running the show here on this little blog, I get to call the shots. Right? {I hope so...}
Well, after 4 days of grilled cheeses and feeling a little bit like I'm going to turn into a slice of bread with melted cheese, I decided that my final day would be a grilled cheese that my gluten free eaters would be able to eat as well (without having to find gluten free bread).
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Hey, it's no fun if you can't join a celebration just because of your dietary restrictions!
And Grilled Cheese Month is totally something to celebrate.
So I am making a grilled cheese with eggplant slices as the vehicle for putting cheese on and some fillings inside.
To make this, you'll start by grilling the eggplant slices. I don't grill, so I just used my panini press. A grill pan will work as well.
Then you can fill the grilled eggplant slices with goat cheese, smoked salmon, and roasted red bell pepper.
I roasted a red bell pepper just because and found this to be a really nice addition to the "sandwich." I suppose you could leave it out, but I love the additional veggies to my veggie-ful grilled cheese.
FYI: Jarred roasted red bell peppers are a great option if you don't feel like roasting them yourself (like me. I'm a buyer of roasted bell peppers because roasting my own never works right for me).
If you need a sauce {which I totally don't think it needs, but some people just love condiments}, I'd add a balsamic vinaigrette, like this new favorite of mine.
Salmon and Eggplant Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 small eggplant cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 medium roasted red bell pepper
- 4 oz smoked salmon
- 3 oz goat cheese
Instructions
- Sprinkle each side of the sliced eggplant with salt. Let sit for 5-10 minutes on a towel {or paper towel}. Wipe off any moisture that accumulates.
- Preheat a grill pan/panini press. Add eggplant and grill for about 3 minutes per side. Remove from grill and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Spread goat cheese on each slice of grilled eggplant. Top half of the slices with salmon and a few slices of red bell pepper. Top with a slice of eggplant {with the cheese side facing the inside}.
- Grill the eggplant until the cheese is melted, about 3-5 minutes. Enjoy!
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