Grilled Eggplant Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for greasing grill grates and drizzling
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil and leaves for garnish
• 8 slices village bread
• 1 tbsp. grated mozzarella
• Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

Preparation:

1. Preheat the grill (or grill pan) to medium heat. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and garlic.
2. Slice the eggplant into 8 1/2-inch-thick slices. Cut each tomato into 4 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides with garlic oil; continue brushing until all the oil is used, being especially generous with the eggplants. Season both sides with salt.
   
   Leave for 5 minutes to allow the eggplants to completely absorb the oil and salt.
3. In a small bowl, combine Parmesan and chopped basil.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the bread slices until they are charred and grill marks appear, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the grill and drizzle with olive oil.
5. Grill the tomato and eggplant slices, covered, until they have grill marks, about 4 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the eggplant slices over and place a tomato slice on top of each. Sprinkle each slice with the Parmesan-basil-mozzarella mixture. Grill for about 4 minutes, with the lid lowered, until the eggplant is fully cooked and the mozzarella is melted.
6. Garnish the eggplant and Parmesan stacks with basil leaves and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve with grilled bread.