One of my favorite meals my husband makes every once in a while is Grilled Squash Sandwiches. Every time they get made they taste just a little bit different, even though we use roughly the same ingredients. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Ingredients:
- Sandwich or French bread rolls (sourdough can be a bit heavy)
- Zucchini cut on the diagonal
- Yellow Squash cut on the diagonal
- Cheese (usually a provolone)
- Onion, sliced
- Tomato, sliced
- Avocado, sliced (or spread on the bread)
- Pesto sauce (homemade is best!)
- A tapenade, artichoke spread or roasted garlic spread
- Balsamic vinegar to drizzle
- Olive oil with sea salt and ground pepper for seasoning the zucchini and squash
Instructions:
Warm up the grill (you can use a broiler too, but it'll smoke so be careful), making sure the racks are clean of debris. Slice the zucchini and Squash on an angle to make long strips (you may not get more than three to four per). Place them in a bowl and cover with 4 to 5 tbls of olive oil, and about 2 teaspoons of sea salt and ground pepper each (some of this will be left over on the bottom of the bowl). Toss thoroughly to coat.
Slice the tomato, onion, and cheese thin (we don't want to make this too rich now do we?), and set them aside to build the sandwich later. Scoop out some avocado and cut up.
Once the grill is warm, take a pair of tongs and place the coated zucchini and squash over the grill at medium heat. Avoid hot spots you know about on your grill as squash will begin to develop a wonderful smokey char very quickly. Flip as they need it to finish them. It will not take very long; just put them on a plate as you finish each one.
Bring them inside, and halve your bread to toast (or toast them on the grill if it is still going...). Once the bread is toasted, drizzle balsamic vinegar on one half; spread some of the spread you have chosen on that same half. On the other side spread some pesto. Now begin stacking items, finishing with the zucchini and squash.
Ideally, this sandwich is not served warm, but wrapped up tight, and refrigerated for a few hours (or even overnight for lunches the next day!).
It is best served with a wine of your choosing and fruit on the side for a good salt/sugar contrast; like apple or grapes (not really citrus though).
Enjoy this great vegetarian delight!