Vegetarian Eggplant Muffuletta Recipe

The muffuletta is one of New Orleans' best-known dishes, and in fact ranks as one of the nation's truly iconic sandwiches right up there with the Nashville hot chicken and the Philly cheesesteak. While a classic muffuletta recipe is made with Italian cold cuts such as prosciutto, mortadella, and soppressata as well as provolone cheese, recipe developer Tanika Douglas has chosen to make a vegetarian version here with grilled eggplant and Jarlsberg cheese.

Douglas enthuses that this vegetarian sandwich is "bursting with vibrant flavor" and eye-catching colors. "For me, the beauty is in the incredible balance of bold flavors," she says. "We have the salty, fresh deliciousness of the olive salad; creamy, nutty Jarlsberg cheese; and sweet roasted red peppers." Douglas also calls eggplant a wonderful alternative to cured meats in muffulettas, not only because of its nutritional properties, but also because of the smoky flavor it takes on when grilled.

The 3 main ingredients for this sandwich are bread (a round muffuletta loaf), eggplant, and Jarlsberg cheese (or another variety since, as Douglas admits, "the options are endless when it comes to cheese.") Other cheeses she suggests include Gruyère, Gouda, mozzarella, or the provolone traditionally used to make muffulettas.

You're also going to need olives, semi-dried tomatoes, parsley, capers, garlic, pepper, red wine vinegar, and olive oil to make the olive relish that serves as a condiment for the sandwich, plus some roasted red peppers and arugula as toppings. If you can't find semi-dried tomatoes where you shop, Douglas says sun-dried tomatoes are an alternative, but they "have more of an intense flavor to them."

Chop the olives, tomatoes, parsley, and capers. Don't worry about getting too fine a dice with any of these (particularly the capers, which are already tiny), as Douglas says a rough chop will work fine. Once these ingredients are chopped, stir in the garlic, which should also be peeled and minced, along with the pepper, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Set a grill pan on a burner turned to medium-high, then drizzle in the rest of the olive oil. Plunk some eggplant slices into the pan and grill them on the first side for 2 minutes, then flip them over onto the other side. The eggplant is done when it's tender and a little bit charred, with Douglas explaining that char "provides a wonderful subtle smokiness." Be careful not to burn the eggplant though, as too much char could turn the vegetable bitter instead. In order to avoid over-crowding the pan, you may need to work in batches to cook all of the eggplant.

Slice the round bread loaf right through the middle, then spread half of the olive relish over the bottom in an even layer. (Douglas uses a spoon to smooth it out.) Layer half of the eggplant on top of the olives, followed by the peppers and half of the cheese. Put the rest of the eggplant on top of the cheese, then the rest of the cheese on top of the eggplant. The arugula goes on top of that. Spread the rest of the olive relish on the other side of the loaf, pressing the condiment down into the bread. That way, it will stay on when you pick up the bread and use it to cap off the sandwich.

The final step before you chow down is to use a serrated knife to slice the sandwich into 4 quarters. Even if you aren't going to eat the muffuletta right away, it's best to cut it up before refrigerating it. Douglas says each quarter will last for about 3 days if wrapped in plastic, though they won't taste as fresh.