This tomato eggplant sandwich has crispy pancetta, creamy burrata and sundried tomato pesto on toasted sourdough bread. This yummy combination represents one of my favorite open-faced sandwiches of all time.

If you love this Open-Faced Tomato Eggplant Sandwich , you will also love this Feta Grilled Cheese, Tomato Feta Sandwich or our Pita Pizzas!

An open sandwich and part of another, both with with eggplant, tomatoes pancetta and mozzarella on a wooden surface.

Why this recipe sings

It is delicious. This extraordinary open-faced sandwich is crisp, fresh, and filled with flavor.
It is easy. The sandwich has minimal prep and the cooking takes about 15 minutes.
It is versatile. You can easily swap ingredients with ones in your pantry. Choose zucchini instead of eggplant, chopped sun-dried tomatoes in place of red pesto, bacon instead of pancetta.

Here is what you need

Ingredients for tomato eggplant sandwich.

Sourdough bread. I like the sour flavor of sour bread. You can use the bread of your choice.
Red pesto. A very versatile ingredient, the opposite of green pesto is made with sundried tomatoes, parmesan cheese and olive oil. It adds salty peppery notes to any dish. It is available at most supermarkets or Mediterranean grocers.
Eggplant. Half a medium eggplant is enough.
Tomato. It must be ripe and juicy.
Garlic. Sliced thin to use in the tomato marinade.
Fresh oregano. You can use dried oregano in a pinch.
Buratta cheese. The creamy white cheese can be substituted with fresh mozzarella.
Pancetta. You can also go for thick bacon, or guanciale. Prosciutto can also be a good candidate, use a couple of thin slices over everything without cooking it. Toast the bread only in a little olive oil.
All-purpose flour. To dust the eggplant.
Extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Slice the tomatoes and the garlic and place on a plate. Pour one-two tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil all over. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and add some oregano leaves on top. Let tomatoes marinade while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Slice the eggplant into thin slices.
Add a pinch of salt to the flour, mix well and place on a plate. Lightly dust the eggplant slices on both sides.

Place a skillet on medium-high heat and add some olive oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, fry the eggplant slices until they get a light golden color on both sides about 2-3 minutes.

Transfer eggplant slices to kitchen towels to absorb most of the oil.

Wipe the skillet clean and place it on medium-high heat.
Slice the pancetta and fry until golden crispy about 3-4 minutes.

Remove pancetta from the skillet and set aside with the eggplant.
Don’t clean the skillet from the rendered pancetta fat.

Two slices of bread with olive oil on a butcher block. — Drizzle some olive oil on top of the bread slices.

A piece of toasted bread in a skillet. — Over medium-high heat, toast the bread until golden in the pancetta fat.

A piece of toasted bread with red pesto on a wooden surface. — **Assemble the tomato eggplant sandwich.**
Spread about a tablespoon of red pesto on a bread slice.

An open sandwich with eggplant slices on a wooden surface. — Stack 3-4 eggplant slices…

An open sandwich with eggplant, and tomatoes on a wooden surface. — with a couple of tomato and garlic slices.

An open sandwich with with eggplant, tomatoes and mozzarella on a wooden surface. — Break the burrata into pieces and place them on top.

An open sandwich with with eggplant, tomatoes, pancetta and mozzarella on a wooden surface. — Add half of the pancetta and pour some leftover tomato marinade and oregano leaves with a spoon.

An open-faced tomato eggplant sandwich with pancetta on a wooden surface. — Enjoy!

Check out my Greek pantry staples

Heck yeah!

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