Grandmari's Capri Sandwiches
I was lucky enough as a middle schooler to travel to Italy and Sicily with my grandparents. I was one of those dorky kids who was really into the art and architecture. My grandmother was obsessed with the cooking. (I was well into my 20s before I discovered cooking as a form of artistic expression so I never gave the food a second thought.)In Capri, it was the natural beauty that caught my attention. While my grandmother sat a lovely cliff-top café and delighted in a variety of dishes, my grandfather and I took a boat tour of the famous Blue Grotto. I think that as an adult, I might find it a remarkably romantic place, but being the geek that I was, I was fascinated with a) what made the water glow blue and b) that we were paddling under the island.
Meanwhile, my grandmother was above us experiencing a vegetarian delight that I would not appreciate for many years to come. She sometimes recreated the delightful sandwiches at home when we returned to the states but I wasn’t about to try any lunchtime food that included, of all things, eggplant.
After my grandmother passed away, I found a note scribbled on the back of a napkin from the café in Capri with the ingredients of the sandwich. So, when I made the sandwich afterward, I called it Grandmari’s (that’s what I called her when I was young) Capri Sandwich.
It’s a meaty (well, eggplanty) sandwich with vegetables and cheese that will fill you up without leaving you feeling stuffed.
Grandmari’s Capri Sandwich
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
8 slices unpeeled tomatoes sliced about ¼ inch thick
1 loaf of Italian Bread, cut into 8 slices (for 4 sandwiches)
1 clove of garlic, cut in half
1 unpeeled eggplant sliced about ½ inch thick
4 slices of onion
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
4 slices of provolone cheese
• Drizzle vinegar on tomato slices, set aside.
• Toast the bread under the broiler and rub with the garlic. (Toss the garlic when you’re done.)
• Arrange the eggplant slices and onions in a single layer on a baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Spray the eggplant and onions with cooking spray too.
• Broil for 5 minutes, flip and broil for 5 minutes on the other side.
• Arrange the tomatoes and eggplant on the bottom of the sandwiches. Top with the olives. On the top half of the sandwich, arrange the onions and cheese. Broil the top half for another 30 seconds in order to melt the cheese.
• Put the sandwiches together and enjoy.
Vegan.
8 slices unpeeled tomatoes sliced about ¼ inch thick
1 loaf of Italian Bread, cut into 8 slices (for 4 sandwiches)
1 clove of garlic, cut in half
1 unpeeled eggplant sliced about ½ inch thick
4 slices of onion
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
4 slices of provolone cheese
• Drizzle vinegar on tomato slices, set aside.
• Toast the bread under the broiler and rub with the garlic. (Toss the garlic when you’re done.)
• Arrange the eggplant slices and onions in a single layer on a baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Spray the eggplant and onions with cooking spray too.
• Broil for 5 minutes, flip and broil for 5 minutes on the other side.
• Arrange the tomatoes and eggplant on the bottom of the sandwiches. Top with the olives. On the top half of the sandwich, arrange the onions and cheese. Broil the top half for another 30 seconds in order to melt the cheese.
• Put the sandwiches together and enjoy.
Vegan.
