meatless friday redesign

Take advantage of the grilling season to make these yummy sandwiches for dinner on Meatless Friday (you could roast the veggies in the oven just as easily -- at 450 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes), but it's fun to prepare dinner on the grill because it sure does keep the kitchen clean and cool.

I made my own pesto because we have a tree nut allergy in the family and I just omit the nuts, but you could used purchased pesto for an easier prep. You could also switch out the veggies or add to for more veggies. Personally, I'd like roasted mushrooms and broccoli on mine.

Veggie Sandwich photo by Barbara Stein Veggie Sandwich photo by Barbara Stein

Roasted Veggie Sandwich

serves 4-6 depending on size of ciabatta

1 large loaf ciabatta bread, sliced horizontally and brushed with olive oil
1 medium yellow squash (sliced in about 1/8-inch slices)
1 medium zucchini (sliced in about 1/8-inch slices)
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced in 1/4-inch slices
1 red onion, sliced

Pesto Ingredients

olive oil
1 bunch fresh basil, washed and dried
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
salt to taste

Place basil and garlic in bowl of food processor. Process until chopped. Add olive oil through feed tube in a slow drizzle, processing until basil and garlic is pureed, adding only enough olive oil to keep it wet. Add Parmesan cheese, process and then add more olive oil as needed to keep pesto wet (you don't want a paste, you want it just slightly runny). Taste and salt as needed.

Preheat grill or oven. Place vegetable slices in a bowl and coat with olive oil (you might want to individually coat onion slices so they stay together). Place vegetable slices on grill or grill pan and grill until tender and slightly charred in appearance (or roast in the oven). When vegetables are done remove to a platter and cover with foil. Grill bread on cut sides, and on outside if desired. When bread is toasted layer vegetables evenly over bottom piece. Spread pesto on top piece and then sandwich them together. Cut in squares or slice loaf crosswise. Serve immediately.

You can find all our Meatless Friday featured recipes here.

Copyright 2015 Barbara Stein.
Photo copyright 2015 Barbara Stein. All rights reserved.