Tuscan Roast Veggie Pesto Sandwich

I know there have been quiet a few Mediterrnean vegetable based recipes on my blog and I love them mostly because they are a vehicle to add lots of veggies into one’s diet. This recipe is a spin on the same concept. Inspired by the flavors of Tuscany and liberal use of pesto this recipe is an ode to Italy. Roast veggies, mozzarella, pesto, sperlonga or ciabatta all sing Italy specifically Tuscany. The other day hubby and I were watching “House of Gucci” on Amazon and the scenes of Milan and Tuscany reminded me of our trips to Italy which made me want to cook Tuscan food. BTW the movie was good if you want a recommendation to watch this weekend, though we paid to watch it on AMAZON as it’s not on Prime yet! Anyway hope you give the recipe a try because its really good and packed with tons of flavors while you get a good dose of healthy veggies.

NOTE: You can totally use store bought pesto, it works really well unless you have some already made. I used about 1/2 a jar of Trader Joes jarred pesto. This recipe makes 2-3 large sandwiches. The exact serving is hard to say, depends on size of the bread. But it will make at least 2 sandwiches.

Tuscan Roast Veggie Pesto Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini or yellow summer squash, sliced thinly lengthwise
•  1-2 cups baby spinach
• 1 large red onion
• 2 roasted bell peppers, I used store bought jarred
• Wholegrain sperlonga or ciabatta bread or good artisanal bread of your choice
• ½ cup sun-dried tomato pesto
• ½ cup classic pesto, homemade or store bought
• 6-8 ounces ball mozzarella, freeze for 30 minutes for easy slicing
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• kosher salt and pepper

sun-dried tomato pesto

• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes + 1/4 cup oil from jar
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• kosher salt

Instructions

1. Slice the zucchini and red onion. Preheat the grill or skillet to high heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and each of sea salt, crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper. Add the onions and zucchini, tossing to combine. Allow the veggies to marinate for a minimum of 15 minutes or overnight in the fridge.
3. Spread each half of the bread slice with a thick layer of sun-dried tomato and classic pesto. Grill the marinated zucchini and red onion for 3-5 minutes or until light grill marks appear. Once done transfer the vegetables from the grill on to a plate.
4.  Working with the bottom piece, the slice with sun-dried tomato pesto, layer on slices of mozzarella to cover the bottom without overlapping. Place the grilled zucchini, onions, jarred red bell pepper, sprinkle the remaining marinade or lightly season each layer (make sure you layer one of each vegetable) and pile on some baby spinach or arugula. Place the pesto smeared other half of the bread one top of the spinach layer and gently push down on the sandwich.
5. At this point, you can either slice the sandwich and serve or wrap and keep in the fridge for up to a day. Enjoy!