Fresh Tomato Soup with Seared Eggplant Sandwiches

Course Main Dishes Total Time Under 2h

Ingredients in this Recipe

1 beautiful eggplant (about 10 ounces), sliced ½ inch thick into 8 slices
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups water
2 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed with a pinch of salt to a paste
2 medium onions, chopped into ¼ inch dice
2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
About ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Four ¼ inch thick slices fresh mozzarella (about 2 ounces)
Four ½ inch thick slices rustic bread, about the same size as the eggplant slices
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¼ cup Pesto (below)
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
½ cup chopped fresh basil, plus 4 leaves for garnish

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