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Roasted Vegetable Club with Basil Mayo

6/19/2022

Recipe Notes/Thoughts

This sandwich is INSANE. Roasted Eggplant, Bell Peppers, Portobello Mushrooms, Red Onion, Fresh Sliced Tomato, Arugula, Seitan Bacon, and Basil Mayo all layered onto Toasted Sourdough Bread. I adapted this recipe from Rebar Modern Food Cookbook. I didn't change much, just the addition of veggie bacon, tweaked the mayo recipe, and I like to drizzle balsamic glaze onto the veg as I'm building the sandwich. Friends, this roasted vegetable club is so fresh and so incredibly flavourful....don't miss out on this epic sandwich experience...you deserve delicious things that are full of good for you ingredients.

Sourdough Bread
I think sourdough is definitely the best choice of bread here. I bought a good quality pre sliced Ace Bakery loaf at the supermarket. The slices are oblong in shape. Click the link to check it out, and try to find something similar for this recipe. Regular generic sliced bread won't do here.

Vegan Bacon
I used 2 slices per sandwich of seitan bacon that a friend brought me from real fake meats in Halifax NS. I make a similar recipe at home, adapted from Avant Garde Vegan (google his streaky bacon recipe if you are curious). Alternatively use your favourite veggie bacon, if the slices are smaller use more than 2 slices per sandwich. I really do like making my own because I think the quality is better than the stuff you can get at the super market. Or perhaps you are living in an area that has a vegan butcher shop!

Basil Mayo
The basil mayo is epic on this sandwich. Serve extra on the side for dipping, and use lots while building the sandwich too. This is a condiment you'll want to have in your repertoire. Another idea is to serve it along side a big pile of roasted veggies. I'm thinking asparagus, radish and zucchini for starters.

Leftovers
If like me, you don't want to make 4 sandwiches at once, all good! Just prepare the roasted vegetables and then store in a container in the fridge. Then you have the makings for quick lunch or dinner sandwiches for the next day (or two).

There's not much more to say about this sandwich friends.... if you want to make the best club sandwich of life, (vegan or otherwise) this is it, hands down. I'm obsessed.

Roasted Vegetable Club Sandwich with Basil Mayo (Vegan)

Ingredients:

olive oil for drizzling
4-6 portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
2 yellow bell peppers (or red, I picked yellow for the colour)
1 red onion, sliced into rounds
a few handfuls of fresh arugula
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced
12 slices sourdough bread (see link above)
8 slices vegan bacon (or as many as needed, see notes above)
Balsamic Vinegar for brushing onto roasted veg
Balsamic Glaze for drizzling while building the sandwich (optional but I really like it)
1 x recipe Basil Mayo (below)

Method

Turn oven on to 425F, depending how big of pans you have, you might have to roast things in a couple of batches.
To roast peppers, slice in half and remove seeds and pith. Place cut side down onto a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and roast until the skins start to shrivel and they start to brown a bit. Remove from oven and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. The steam will loosen the skins so you can easily peel them off. Once peeled and cooled, slice into thick strips.
Place the mushrooms, eggplant and onions onto an oiled sheet pan (in batches if necessary). Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven, flipping half way until tender and a bit golden. I had all my veg in the oven at the same time, and I started checking after 15 minutes. Removing things when ready. It will vary depending on how thick you slice things, and the temperature of your specific oven. Just keep an eye.
Remove veg from oven when ready, and brush mushrooms and eggplant with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Cool then thickly slice the mushrooms, and cut the eggplant into halves.
When you are ready to make sandwiches, cook your veggie bacon according to package directions (I cooked my seitan bacon in a pan with a bit of olive oil). Set Aside.
Toast the sour dough bread in the oven right on the rack. Don't let it get too dried out, or it's hard to bite into the sandwich. Toasty but still softish.

To assemble sandwiches:

Spread a generous layer of basil mayo on the bottom slice of toasted sourdough.
Top with arugula, sliced tomato (season tomato with s & p), and veggie bacon
Spread basil mayo on both sides of the second piece of toasted sourdough, and place on top of veggie bacon.
Now layer a few slices of roasted eggplant, bell pepper, mushroom, and onion onto the sandwich. Drizzle with a bit of balsamic glaze.
Spread basil mayo on last slice of toasted sourdough and place on top of roasted veg. Press the sandwich down a bit, then slice in half. You can secure with a toothpick if desired.

Basil Mayo

Ingredients:

2 cups vegan mayo (I use Hellman's vegan mayo)
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 tsp flaked kosher salt (less if using table salt)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Method

Add all ingredients to a food processor, blend to combine. Or add to a litre container and blitz together using an immersion blender.

2 Comments

Green Beans In Tomato Sauce (Judias Verdes Con Tomate)

6/2/2022

0 Comments

Green Beans in Tomato sauce isn't something I would intuitively put together, but turns out, it is really really good. Onion, garlic, smoked paprika to flavour is the flavour base for a can of diced tomatoes, then toss in the green beans, simmer away. Tuck in some toasty crusty bread, garnish everything with parsley (and chopped almonds if you want) and dig in. I ate this with some roasted potatoes on the side. YUM. Best part, I don't think I even spent 30 minutes whipping this up.

This dish is from a cookbook I have called Vegan Recipes from Spain by Gonzola Baro. I didn't change much. The small changes: I blanched the green beans less time, and then let them finish cooking in the tomato sauce, and I also garnished the dish with some toasted chopped almonds.

I'm really enjoying becoming more acquainted with Spanish dishes here and there. Whenever I try something new I send it to Jose, who is from Valencia, to see if he knows anything about it. This dish he told me is one his mother makes on occasion. I wish we didn't live so far apart so he could taste and give me feedback, but for now I can only share pictures. I try to look on the bright side...I'll have a repertoire of Spanish dishes to share with him when we are together again.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

400 g green beans (I used French Green Beans)
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
400 g can diced tomatoes (I used 1/2 of a 28fl oz can)
handful parsley, chopped
S & P
small handful toasted almonds to garnish (optional)
A few slices of crusty bread, drizzled with olive oil and toasted in the oven.

Method:

Blanch green beans in boiling water just until bright green, (a couple of minutes) strain and set aside.
In a sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and sweat onion and garlic until softened. (you can turn heat down a bit if needed) Season with S & P.
Stir in smoked paprika.
Add diced tomatoes and a small splash of water.
Simmer tomato sauce for a few minutes.
Add green beans to the pan, and continue to fold them in occasionally while the sauce simmers until they are cooked through. (I like them to still have a bit of texture, but I don't mind if they get a bit softer than in other dishes where I might like them really snappy.) About 10 - 12 more minutes. Season with more S & P to taste.
Transfer everything to a serving dish, rip the toasted or grilled bread into large chunks and tuck them into the sauce. Sprinkle everything with chopped parsley and toasted almonds. Serve straight away.