Ok, I admit it. I’m a girl who loves her bacon sandwiches. BLT’s, turkey clubs and, of course, guacamole bacon sandwiches. Who would have guessed that I would be the one to crave a roasted vegetable sandwich with chipotle mayonnaise? No bacon.
Vegetable sandwiches have become my obsession this summer. I just had the most delicious tomato sandwich in San Jose. The tomatoes were sweet and juicy; without a hint of acid. They must have been picked minutes before becoming a sandwich. I’ve been craving them ever since. The only thing that would have made them better was my Chipotle Mayonnaise recipe. So, I decided to update my Roasted Vegetable Sandwich with Chipotle Mayonnaise post for everyone who is buried under a mountain of late summer vegetables. Who said zucchinni?
They key to a great veggie sandwich is in the spread or pesto. So, to update my earlier post, I’ve included my recipe for spinach pesto as well as the Chipotle Mayonnaise recipe. Either one is terrific with the veggies or, you can use them both. A balsamic reduction drizzled over the vegetables can be nice if you like a little sweetness on your vegetables. Tomatoes, especially.
This is still the best method for grilling the veggies, just be sure to not to over cook them. Take advantage of their freshness by keeping them al dente.
Roasted Vegetable Sandwich with Chipotle Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of chipotles in adobo, finely minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 Ciabatta rolls
2 japanese eggplants
2 zucchini
2 red bell peppers, the bottled type will do just fine
canola oil
1 bunch spinach
8 oz queso panela or fresh mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Directions for Vegetable Sandwich with Chipotle Mayonnaise
Mince chipotle pepper and mix it into the mayonnaise. Let the chipotle mayonnaise chill in the refrigerator to blend the flavors together while you prepare the rest of the sandwich.
Slice the eggplant and zucchini lengthwise into long, 1/4 inch slices (a mandolin works well for this) . Cut off the stem of the red pepper, cut into quarters and remove the seeds.
Very lightly oil veggies with canola oil (save on calories by wiping off the excess oil, you will taste the real freshness of the vegetable if it is not covered in oil).
Place veggies on a medium high grill (a grill pan works great and isn’t as messy) and cook long enough for grill marks, but still al dente. Salt after they are taken off the grill so that they don’t let off too much of their juices. Remember, you want to keep the fresh crispness of the vegetable.
Dice the eggplant. Remove the skin of the red pepper if desired.
Cut rolls in half and toast lightly on the grill.
Spread chipotle mayonnaise on the bread and layer the vegetables; zucchini, then diced eggplant, red pepper and cheese.
Warm the cheese quickly on the grill and season with a little Mexican oregano and salt and pepper.
Top it off with fresh spinach and enjoy the summertime while you can!
Wilted Spinach Salad Pesto
2 1/2 cups leftover spinach greens
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
1/2 to 2/3 cups olive oil
Put spinach, garlic, walnuts, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times. Drizzle olive oil into food processor while pulsing until you reach the desired consistency.
I love to make pesto with unusual ingredients. It’s a great way to top sandwiches, pastas or cheesy dips. I’m inspired by these creative pestos and chipotle mayonnaises:
For some reason, I am obsessed with cool summer soups lately. I decided to try making the ultimate cool refreshing summer soup: Gazpacho! – with a southwest twist. Many cooks describe gazpacho as a “liquid salad,” and likewise mine could be labeled “liquid salsa.”
I decided to throw in an avocado to try for a “creamy” texture. It worked great and tasted smooth and delicious, but the color was very muddy. I added a small can of tomato paste for color. Result: creaminess with a deep red color! Perfecto! Continue Reading…
Some recipes are so unique that the taste, smell and texture stays with you forever. So it is with Chilled Avocado Soup and my celebration of the 200th birthday of America in Guadalajara, Mexico. I was a foreign exchange student living with a Mexican family and attending the University of Guadalajara. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, but on July 4th, 1976, a particularly notable bicentennial celebration, I was homesick. I was daydreaming of potato salad, barbecued chicken and strawberry shortcake. What the cook of the household set before me was a strange, pale green concoction in a bowl. I sat in stunned silence as she announced: “Sopa de Aguacate.”
When you are a guest in a foreign country, you do not refuse food. It is an insult to your hosts. I reluctantly dipped in my spoon and braced myself for something weird and inedible that must be choked down at any cost. Much to my astonishment, it was creamy, frothy, sweet and savory – one of the most delicious soups I have ever eaten still to this day. Now that I think about it, who doesn’t love avocados in any way, shape or form? And folks have touted the creamy green flesh as having almost magical powers: keeping you thin, protecting your vision and even curing cancer!
I recreated the food memory recently, fearing that I would be disappointed, since almost all recreated dishes pale in comparison to a powerful food memory. Much to my surprise, this soup was even more delicious than that of my memory. I used just a hint of freshly grated nutmeg – not enough to actually taste the nutmeg on its own, but just a hint of something intriguing added to give depth. I also used Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream, which I am sure our Guadalajara cook used.
This refreshing cool and frothy summer soup is a snap to make in your blender and the taste and texture are amazing . Put this soup on your “100 Things to Eat Before I Die” list!
“Feasting is also closely related to memory. We eat certain things in a particular way in order to remember who we are. Why else would you eat grits in Madison, New Jersey?” Jeff Smith, ‘The Frugal Gourmet Keeps the Feast’
I have come up with my very own fabulous frugal food tip! I made a pesto recipe out of a wilted spinach salad. I think it is a rather brilliant way to stretch the delicious spinach salad recipe with strawberries, goat cheese and candied walnuts into another dish. Bruschetta!
I was so disappointed when I went to the refrigerator to get some left over salad for lunch and realized that I had dressed all of the spinach the night before and now, it was wilted. The spinach, goat cheese and strawberry combo from the day before (don’t forget the walnuts) sounded so good to me that I just had to figure out a way to finish them off. I decided that if pesto is made by just chopping up basil and smothering it in oil anyway, why not start out with spinach that was dressed in olive oil already?
I’m not usually a “salad for dinner” kind of girl. But when summer hits full boil here in Phoenix, salad recipes are all I can think about. Salads are quick, easy and there are no rules to follow; you just throw in what ever sounds good at the time. This Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Candied Walnuts is not only what sounds good this time, but it’s all I have this time.
Apparently, I didn’t do that great of a job shopping before I went into the hospital for knee surgery. I found a strange collection of ingredients in the fridge when I got home: left over pizza, dried out chicken nuggets and really smelly chinese food. All signs that my family survived any way they could… by eating take-out. The big bag of salad greens I purchased is still sitting there, looking a little sad. I must have been under the influence of pre-surgery medication when I bought it. I had these images of my husband sitting around, munching on salad and marveling at its crisp, summery, freshness while I was in the hospital eating reconstituted beef bullion and rubberized pork chops.
However, there is a big patch of really fresh strawberries in the fridge that wasn’t there before. He probably picked them up at the grocery store on one of his “emergency runs” for ice cream (the evidence is in the trash can). So, I mixed the strawberries and bag of greens with creamy goat cheese from the fridge (every Southwest cook has goat cheese in the fridge) and candied walnuts from the pantry for a fresh summery salad that made me feel so happy to be home.
