Eggplant Grilled Cheese With Yemenite Green Hot Sauce That Will Have You Drooling

This Middle Eastern grilled cheese is filled with oozing Jarlsberg cheese, melted over slices of grilled eggplant, cherry tomatoes and slathered in Yemenite green hot sauce and tahini.

This post is a partnership with Jarlsberg Cheese. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible; I am proud to only work with companies that I truly believe in.

The ultimate eggplant grilled cheese

It is no secret that I love eggplant, and cheesy things. Put those two together, and it's a marriage made in heaven in my books.

So when Jarlsberg tasked me with coming up with my idea of the ultimate Middle Eastern grilled cheese, my mind immediately went to eggplant.

There is just something about the combination of grilled eggplant slices, slinky and soft from their sojourn in a hot pan; plump and juicy cherry tomatoes, bursting with flavor and juice; a touch of zaatar herb; the sharp, melodic flavor of a homemade Yemenite hot sauce called schug; lemony tahini; and melting, oozing Jarlsberg cheese.

The resulting eggplant grilled cheese is my favourite middle eastern grilled cheese sandwich, one that we couldn't stop eating for an entire week. And once you taste it, neither will you.

Ingredient Spotlight: Jarlsberg Cheese

Jarlsberg is probably my favourite cheese, for cooking and snacking. Its mild, nutty flavor makes it a versatile cheese that's easy to pair with other ingredients.

It's also perfect for cooking because of how it melts. Just look at the cheese pulls in my Jarlsberg cheese shakshuka! There's nothing like biting into a Jarlsberg grilled cheese, when you pull at the sandwich and get those long, twisty ropes of stretchable cheese strings. It's really the best cheese for melting, hands down - and feel free to feel offended, mozzarella.

Finally, the main reason I like Jarlsberg cheese is because it's a great cheese for sharing. When we go outside, we always pack a bag of Jarlsberg cubes and grapes. When we come to a picnic, we bring a Jarlsberg cheese block and some crackers. In the days we hosted, we loved to prepare a batch of homemade bourekas with eggplant and cheese. In short, whenever there was people sharing food, we'd usually bring out Jarlsberg cheese in some form.

But forgive me if once you try Jarlsberg grilled cheese, it'll be hard to think of a better way to enjoy this cheese.

For more Jarlsberg cheese recipes:

Why you have to try this Jarlsberg grilled cheese recipe

I think that everyone's lives improves drastically once they taste properly cooked eggplant. But if you've ever questioned putting eggplant in your Jarlsberg grilled cheese sandwich, you need to try THIS RECIPE because it is:

• Cheesy (so much melted cheese!)
• Perfect balance of savory and salty
• Spicy (wait until you try Yemenite hot sauce!)
• Creamy (from tahini)
• Flavorful
• Perfectly seasoned
• Easy to make gluten-free

If you are looking for more Israeli and Middle Eastern food, check out my Jewish recipes section.

How to make the perfect grilled eggplant slices

The secret to this Middle Eastern grilled cheese sandwich are the perfect slices of grilled eggplant.

Here are my top tips for making grilled eggplant slices:

• Choose the right eggplant. A good eggplant has taut, blemish and dent-free skin, a firm shape, and a vibrant green top. If that sounds overly sexy, my apologies - the next point won't be any better.
• Male eggplant also tend to have fewer seeds, which can make the eggplant bitter - so try to find smaller, male eggplants with a firm buttock. How to tell if an eggplant is male or female? Look for the indent in the bottom; if it's a long gash, it's a female, while a circular, shallow and round indentation connotes a male eggplant.
• Seeds can make your grilled eggplant slices bitter. If you see a slice has too many seeds, get rid of it.
• To spread the seeds evenly throughout the eggplant, you can slice it lengthwise into long, oblong strips, like you do for eggplant parmesan. This will spread the seeds throughout all your slices instead of leaving you with some seed-heavy pieces.
• Use a hot, non-stick pan to grill eggplant.
• Don't skimp on the oil; add 2-3 tablespoons of oil to your pan between every batch of fried eggplant slices. In total, frying a single medium eggplant should use about ¼-1/3 cup of oil.
• Season the slices with salt after they come out of the oil, and let them drain on a paper towel.
• Eggplant loves cheese, and other strong flavors. Pairing it with tahini, hot sauce, tomatoes and zaatar always works - which is why this eggplant grilled cheese is such a winner!

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need for this easy grilled cheese recipe:

• Olive oil
• a small eggplant
• cherry tomatoes
• jarlsberg cheese
• zaatar spice
• your favourite bread (gluten-free bread works great!)

For Yemenite hot sauce (schug):

• jalapeno peppers
• diced cilantro
• garlic cloves
• cumin
• cardamom
• salt & black pepper

For tahini sauce:

• tahini paste
• water
• lemon, juice of
• salt & pepper, to taste

Equipment

• One large pan, preferably non-stick
• One spatula
• Cutting Board
• Chef's Knife

Directions for making Jarlsberg Middle Eastern grilled cheese:

Grill eggplant slices:

Slice eggplant into rounds or slices (depending on the size of your bread).

Bring a non-stick pan to medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons of oil. Arrange as many eggplant slices as a you can fit in a single layer, without overlapping, in the pan. Fry eggplant until both sides are browned, flipping in the middle, about 8-10 minutes in total. Remove eggplant slices onto a paper towel-covered plate, and sprinkle with salt.

Repeat until all eggplant slices are cooked, adding 2-3 tablespoons of oil with every batch.

Prepare tahini sauce

In a blender or a jar, mix raw tahini with water, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir, shake or blend well to combine. You should end up with a slightly runny, thick tahini sauce.

Make Yemenite hot sauce (schug)

Put all the schug ingredients in a food processor with a steel blade and process to a smooth mash. Store in a jar in the refrigerator.

Assemble Middle Eastern grilled cheese

On one piece of bread, spread a generous layer of tahini. Lay one slice of Jarlsberg cheese. Top with a few rounds or slices of grilled eggplant, a few halves of cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkling of zaatar spice. Top with another slice or two of Jarlsberg cheese.

Smear the next slice of bread with some Yemenite hot sauce. Top the sandwich with the second slice of bread, and press to seal.

Cook the Middle Eastern grilled cheese sandwich:

Smear bread with butter or olive oil on both sides. Cook in a panini press or in the same hot pan you cooked the eggplant, about 3-4 minutes per side, until the Jarlsberg cheese is melted and gooey. If cooking in a pan, try to weigh down the grilled cheese with a plate or lid or just press down with a spatula.

Serve eggplant grilled cheese immediately with additional Yemenite hot sauce and tahini for dipping. Mixing the tahini and Yemenite hot sauce also works really well!

What is the best cheese to use in an eggplant grilled cheese?

Hands down, the best cheese for ANY grilled cheese is 100% Jarlsberg cheese. I love how it stretches when it melts, and the way it pairs with strong flavors like eggplant, tahini and Yemenite hot sauce.

What makes this a Middle Eastern grilled cheese?

The use of strong, bold, forward-thinking flavors like eggplant and zaatar makes this grilled cheese a shoo-in for the Middle Eastern kitchen. This grilled cheese reminds me of a sandwich you'd eat in Aroma in Israel, or from a grilled toast stand in the Jerusalem Ben Yehuda souk.

The inclusion of incredible homemade Yemenite hot sauce called schug is something that few people in North America think of, but it makes this eggplant grilled cheese so flavorful and delicious!

The funny thing is, those schug alone can taste pretty spicy, once you put it in a Jarlsberg grilled cheese sandwich the cheese really mitigates the spice level and you hardly feel it. Instead, you just taste a deep, zesty layer of flavor that elevates the whole grilled cheese!

Scaling the recipe

Feel free to increase the recipe as much as you need, depending on how many people you're feeding. The quantities provided here make 1-4 eggplant grilled cheese sandwiches, and a person usually eats one.

Can you store grilled cheese sandwiches for later?

I don't recommend keeping and reheating grilled cheese sandwiches, as the cheese melts best when it's freshly made in a pan. But if you do end up with leftovers, you can always reheat them in an oven set to 350F. You can also reheat them in the microwave, if you don't mind soggy bread.

Adaptations

I make this eggplant grilled cheese as a gluten-free grilled cheese for me.

To make it vegan, you'd have to use a plant-based cheese.

To make it paleo, keto grilled cheese or whole 30 appropriate, use a Folios cheese wrap instead of the bread and don't toast it at all. It taste amazing - the heat from the grilled eggplant will melt the Jarlsberg cheese beautifully!

I also like to try different hot sauces in this spicy grilled cheese. My favorite is this habanero hot sauce.

What pairs well with eggplant grilled cheese?

This flavorful, savory Jarlsberg and eggplant sandwich goes really well for lunch. I recommend serving it with salads (even a simple Israeli salad will do!), hummus and veggies, or a soup in winter. I like this raffertys potato soup recipe for a filling side!

When to serve this eggplant grilled cheese?

This Middle Eastern grilled cheese sandwich will become your favourite lunch once you try it. Pair it with a salad or soup for a filling meal!

I also love it as a weekend breakfast grilled cheese, when you’re looking for that something special to start your day.

Try these dishes with Middle Eastern eggplant grilled cheese:

Recipe