This gooey, delicious grilled cheese sandwich is made with thick-sliced sourdough bread and layers of roasted eggplant, caramelized onion, sliced tomato, goat cheese and shredded mozzarella. Instead of butter, the outside is coated with garlic-mayonnaise, which not only adds loads of flavor, but browns a little slower than butter, allowing the cheeses to melt without over-toasting the bread.

Roasted Eggplant and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

A scrumptious grilled cheese sandwich made with garlic-mayo-coated sourdough bread, roasted eggplant, tomato, caramelized onion, goat cheese and mozzarella.

Author: Lynne Webb
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants (about 1-1/2 lbs), peeled
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced, separated into rings
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
8 slices sourdough bread
3 ounces goat cheese, softened
3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 large tomato, thinly sliced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet (or 2) with parchment.
Cut the eggplant into 3/8-inch thick slices and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the tops lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the eggplant until tender and lightly caramelized, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
While the eggplant roasts, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring frequently until nicely caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Note:If the onions look a little dry during cooking, add some water, 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time.
Combine the mayonnaise and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
Spread the goat cheese on 4 slices of bread. Divide the shredded mozzarella between the 4 remaining slices and top each with a portion of caramelized onions, tomato, eggplant and finally, the other 4 slices of bread.
Spread a thin coating of the garlic mayonnaise on the top of each sandwich. Place, coated side down, on a preheated pan or griddle and spread the remaining mayonnaise on the top slice.
Cook until the bottom slice of bread is nicely toasted, then flip and cook until the second side is toasted and the mozzarella is melted and gooey.