European

1. Prepare the eggplant. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil cooking spray, then drizzle each with 11?2 tsp. of the oil and spread with a paper towel. Preheat the oiled pans for 10 minutes.

2. Dip eggplant slices in the beaten egg, then the breadcrumbs. Arrange in a singlelayer on the oiled, preheated pans and cook 10 minutes. Turn slices over and bake another 10 minutes. Crumbs should be crisp and browned. Remove from oven; leave oven on.

3. While eggplant is cooking, prepare the tomato sauce. In a medium saucepan, heatthe remaining 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir for 30seconds. Add tomatoes and sugar, bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, stirringoccasionally, for 15 minutes. The sauce should thicken slightly. Stir in salt, pepper, and 1?4 cup of the shredded basil. Remove from heat.

4. Assemble the heroes. Slice the semolina loaf in half horizontally. Remove some of the bread from the top and bottom and reserve for another use (see sidebar on page 22). Place a layer of eggplant slices in the hollowed-out bottom half. Spoon some of the tomato sauce over the eggplant, then top with mozzarella slices and the remaining 1?4 cup basil. Cover with another layer of eggplant topped by more tomato sauce. Reserve any remaining sauce for serving. Cover with bread top.

5. Wrap the sandwich in aluminum foil and place directly on a rack in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is softened and bread is heated through. Unwrap, slice into quarters, and serve immediately, with any extra sauce in a bowl or jar on the side for dipping.

Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, March - April 2011