Eggplant Panini with Balsamic Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Looking for tasty lunch ideas? This eggplant panini with balsamic and sun-dried tomatoes makes for a perfectly healthy lunch that is also easy to prepare.  Don’t have panini maker?  No worries, you don’t need to spend $8 to $12 at a sandwich or even buy a panini maker as you can whip this up in a skillet grill pan or on a grill or skillet.  I simply pressed the top of the sandwich with the bottom part of another clean pan and the bread was crispy in a flash.  I used a good quality multigrain sandwich bread to get some extra fiber.  The healthier breads often have the best flavor, often adding sweetness or in this case nutty flavors.

This eggplant panini contains provolone cheese, spinach, grilled eggplant (see recipe below), and cooked sun-dried tomatoes in balsamic vinegar.  Eggplant and sun-dried tomatoes have flavors that compliment one another quite well in pasta dishes and sandwiches.  Vegetarians will surely like this lunch but don’t hold back from making it for meat eaters as well.  The eggplant can hold its own for flavor and consistency in place of a protein, much like it does in eggplant parmesan.

Hope you’ll enjoy this easy lunch sandwich recipe of eggplant panini balsamic sun-dried tomatoes.  My husband went crazy for it and my kids actually ate it up too.  If you’re having guests over to watch some sports it’s quick to whip up ten or more of these sandwiches without that much extra effort, just be careful on your portions of salt, garlic and pepper.