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Friday, August 24, 2012

Grilled Summer Vegetable Sandwich

This recipe is modified from the Grilled Vegetable Panini Recipe from the Food Network.  I changed the name because although it is delicious, it's not a true panini.  And just know, my pictures do not do it justice; it's much better than it looks.  The original recipe has more exact measurements, but made it a little more complicated than I thought it needed to be.

Grilled Summer Vegetable Sandwich

Ingredients:

Any combination of Italian summer vegetables, such as:
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Eggplant (if you're into it :))
Red onion
*Red bell peppers

Salt/Pepper

Baguettes
Basil Pesto
Water-packed mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced
Sliced tomatoes

Directions:

Heat your grill, grill pan or panini maker over medium heat.  Brush it with olive oil.  Slice all your veggies. Put them in a single layer on the grill and salt and pepper them rather generously.  When they're done, put on the next batch.  You can see how this can take a while.  Cook more vegetables than you think you'll need, because you can really pile them on, and they cook down.
Meanwhile, slice your baguettes into sandwich size, and slice in half. Spread both sides with pesto (fresh is best :)).  Layer with the mozzarella (water packed is really worth the money), fresh tomato, and the grilled vegetables. 
Eat it up, yum!  You can also drizzle with a little bit of balsamic vinegar if you like.

*If you want to have roasted instead of grilled red peppers, slice them lengthwise once, put them face-down on a baking sheet in the oven on broil.  Take them out when the skin is getting a little blackened.  If the skin doesn't come right off, they're not finished.  Pull off the skin, stem and seeds, and you've got lovely roasted red peppers!

I also tried this recipe for Kale Chips.  It was delicious, but Amy was right; don't overcook them!

9 comments:

  1. This sounds delicious! I love grilled veggi sandwiches actually, so thanks for the recipe. Did you put a recipe on here for pesto ever? If not, do you have a good one? I love pesto!

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    1. I really don't use a recipe for pesto most of the time, but this is a pretty dependable recipe (that came with the original panini recipe). Pine nuts are so expensive I don't buy them often, but you can substitute walnuts or pecans, or just leave them out. It still tastes delicious; how can you miss with that ingredient combo? :)

      Basil Pesto:
      2 cups fresh basil leaves
      1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
      2 garlic cloves, peeled
      1/2 teaspoon salt
      1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
      1/3 cup (about) extra-virgin olive oil
      1/2 cup grated Parmesan

      In a blender, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until finely chopped. With the blender still running, gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

      Yield: 1 cup

      Prep Time: 10 minutes

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  2. Lovely!

    Do you mean if the skin doesn't come right off the peppers, they aren't done yet? Though I of course can imagine that the peppers would be more worried if their skin came off easily. :)

    I am not a pesto fan ever since I ate a sandwich that was way overloaded with it in the mideast. Suggestions for an authentic substitute?

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    Replies
    1. Obviously mustard is Andrew's idea :P

      In answer to your first question, I'm not an expert, but the peppers always seem to be a good consistency when the skins come right off, and if they don't come right off, it really takes a lot of time to peel them.

      If you don't like pesto, you could just put some fresh basil on the sandwich with a little mayo or something. Pesto can also be diluted with mayo.

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    2. Good suggestion! I'm sure mustard would be delicious too, Andrew. (My first question was in response to what I think is a typo in the post... about worried peppers :)

      Can't wait to make it!

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    3. Ha, thanks! Now your comment makes a little more sense. I must have been typing and talking at the same time. I thought you had tried other recipes for roasted peppers, many of which are more complicated and labor intensive. I never actually thought of asking the peppers how they felt about all of it :)

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    4. I'm laughing right now from this thread! :) I just love you guys!

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  3. Just made this for dinner. Amazing! Thanks for posting.

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