• Preheat the oven to 400℉.

Prep the Eggplant

• Slice the eggplant. Put the slices in a bowl and liberally sprinkle them with salt. Fill the bowl with water. Place a plate on top of the bowl and weigh it down to keep the eggplant submerged. Let soak for 30 min.

Prep the Garlic Aioli

• While the eggplant is soaking prep the aioli. Add the garlic powder to the light mayonnaise and mix together. You can use a finely minced clove of fresh garlic in place of the garlic powder but it will have a strong bite to it. Choose your preference and go with it.
• If you choose to use pesto aioli, I posted a recipe for it a while back that you can follow. I link to it in the body of this post. I always have some pre-made pesto aioli on hand in the refrigerator.

Preparing the Eggplant

• After soaking for 30 min, rinse off each eggplant slice and place it on a paper towel to dry off. Use another paper towel to blot the top surface dry.
• Place the bread crumbs on a plate. Place the egg whites in a pie plate, add the tbsp of water and beat together.
• Dip each eggplant slice into the egg white wash and then into the bread crumbs. You are looking to lightly bread them. Place the breaded slices on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil spray or Pam.
• Place the cookie tray of eggplant slices into the oven and bake at 400℉ for 10 min. At the end of 10 min, turn each slice over and return to the oven and bake for another 10 min. Remove from the oven when done and set aside.

Preparing the Panini

• Take the 2 slices of onion and cut them in half and separate the rings. Slice the red bell pepper into strips.
• Place the onions and bell pepper strips onto a preheated indoor grill or panini press. I use a Cusinart Deluxe Grill set to 400℉. Grill the onions and peppers until they are tender and starting to brown. Remove them when done and set aside.
• Slice the kaiser rolls in half. Spread ½ tbsp of aioli on the top of the roll and another ½ tbsp of aioli on the bottom of the roll. Use which ever aioli you prefer, the garlic or the pesto. I normally make one panini with pesto aioli and the other with garlic aioli and the hubby and I have a half of each panini .
• Put a layer of baked breaded eggplant slices on the bottom of each roll. Place a layer of grilled onion rings on top of the eggplant slices. Put the bell pepper strips on top of the grilled onions. Lastly, place the shredded fat free mozzarella on top of the pepper strips.
• Place the top of the rolls on the top of the sandwich. Place the sandwiches on the grill or panini press and lower the top. Grill until the rolls are toasted and the cheese is melted.
• Cut the panini in half. Serve and enjoy.
• You will have enough eggplant slices to make 2 more panini. I put the left over eggplant slices in an air tight container and refrigerator. The next day I make fresh panini with the left over eggplant slices.