The smoky eggplant complements the spicy harissa and salty feta, all contrasted with the pillowy-soft challah, yielding a sandwich that’s a medley of interesting flavors and textures. I used wholegrain pretzel challah from a popular Los Angeles bakery, but any type of challah will do.

Fried Eggplant and Feta on Pretzel Challah
- Cooking and Prep: 50 m
- Serves: 4
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Contains:
Ingredients (6)
Main ingredients
Start Cooking
For the Eggplant
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Slice the eggplant into 8 to 10 quarter-inch slices. Place in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Allow to sit for 10 to 20 minutes.
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Rinse the eggplant and pat each slice dry.
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Heat a large, deep skillet over a medium-high flame. Pour in 1 inch of oil and heat to 350°F (or until water added to the oil sizzles). Add the eggplant slices and fry until golden (2 to 3 minutes on each side). Remove from heat and allow the oil to come to room temperature.
For the Sandwiches
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Meanwhile, to assemble each sandwich, smear harissa on one slice of challah, top with feta and fried eggplant, and cover together with a second slice of challah.
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Pour the oil out of the skillet, return it to the stove, and heat over a medium flame. Place 1 or 2 sandwiches in the pan (depending on space), and fry each sandwich on both sides until deeply brown, adding butter to the skillet as needed. Serve immediately.