January 28, 2014 January 28, 2014/ Morgan
I’m a HUGE fan of sandwiches. For way too long I ate the same vegetarian sandwiches over and over. Lots of chickpea salads and tofu salads, really. There’s so much more though! Of course there are all sorts of vegan burgers (like this one, or this one, or this one!) but what about a really good roasted vegetable sandwich? YES. That’s what I’m in the mood for. Simple, flavorful and healthy with a yummy vegan mayo. Mmmm…
I can’t wait to take a bunch of these bad boys out to the beach in my picnic basket. You know.. when summer comes. (Please oh please come soon!) And if it was summer, I would say that you should grill both the eggplant and pepper – that would be FABULOUS!
I don’t know if I have mentioned it yet but we are building a tiny house on wheels right now. I’m not sure if it will be ready by summer but we are going to buy a nice little outdoor grill like this one for BBQs on our porch!
- 1 large eggplant
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 6 big pieces of roasted red pepper (jarred or your can roast your own – see below!)
- 1 cup Plant Strong Mayo (recipe here!!)
- 1/2 cup packed fresh basil
- 2 cloves garlic
- buns and greens (spinach, arugula, etc) for your sandwich!
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Wash and peel your eggplant (or you can leave it unpeeled.) Slice it into 1″ rounds. Place the eggplant into a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Let it sit for about 15 minutes (this helps draw out extra moisture and some say helps with bitterness.) I like to wipe the extra salt and moisture off with a wrung out damp kitchen towel.
Sprinkle the eggplant slices with the garlic powder and oregano (try to get it on both sides.) Why garlic powder? It doesn’t burn as easily in the oven like fresh garlic does. Place the rounds on a parchment paper or Silpat baking mat lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip them over and bake for another 5 minutes.
To make the basil mayo – blend the plant strong mayo, basil and garlic together until smooth. (I just put it all in a large wide mouth jar and blend with my immersion blender. Then put on the lid and store it! Easy and less mess!) Leftovers should keep for at least a week in the refrigerator!
**To roast your own bell peppers: If you have a gas stove you can do it over the flame. Just hold the pepper with some tongs and turn it over the flame to char it on all sides. You want it to be totally blackened. If you don’t have gas you can do this under the broiler in your oven. Just turn the pepper over to expose each side once the side cooking is blackened. When they are totally charred place them in a paper bag (or in a bowl with a lid) and close it shut. This is so they will steam inside the bag and losen the charred skins. Let them sit in there for several minutes. Then once they are just cool enough to handle you can rub or peel the charred skin right off and take the seeds out of the inside. Easy!