Eggplant BLT sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 large, or 1 medium sized eggplant
• cooking spray
• 2 tbsp tamari sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise (or a vegan mayonnaise substitute)
• 2 slices dark bread

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. 2

   slice: To prepare the eggplant bacon, cut the stem end and the base end off of the eggplant. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and then continue to slice each half into slices which are about 1/8 of an inch thick. It is useful to have a very sharp knife or a very sharp mandolin to do this. Do not worry if each slice is not perfectly equal in thickness; the variation will add texture to your bacon.

3. 3

   spray: Place your eggplant slices on a parchment lined cookie sheet, being careful not to have them overlap. Give them a quick spray with the cooking spray and place them in the middle rack of your oven for about 7 – 8 minutes.

4. 4

   flip: Remove the baking pan from the oven and flip the eggplant slices over. If you see that there are some slices that have already started to brown significantly, remove them from the cookie sheet and set aside. Spray the remaining eggplant slices with a little more more cooking spray and return to the oven for another 2 – 3 minutes.

5. 5

   cool: Remove your pan of eggplant slices; you should find them brown, somewhat caramelized, slightly burnt in some places. There should be variation in colour and texture in your eggplant slices. Set them aside on a plate to cool and then reduce the heat of your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. 6

   bake: In a small bowl mix together the tamari sauce with the liquid smoke. Dip your cooled eggplant slices into this mixture and then place them back on the baking tray. Bake in the middle rack of your 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 3 – 5 minutes.

7. 7

   cool: Remove the eggplant bacon from the baking tray and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

8. 8

   assemble: Meanwhile, assemble your sandwich.

9. 9

   Toast your bread until the desired doneness. Spread the mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread. Begin to layer your sandwich with tomato slices, lettuce and the eggplant bacon.

10. 10

    Enjoy!