Grilled Veggie Sandwich with Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

This sandwich is one of my favorites. I usually make it in summer time when there is an abundance of wonderful fresh veggies, but yesterday was so beautiful. I simply couldn't resist the urge to make them. I love sweet potatoes and don't use them as much as I'd like to, so I thought the fries would be a great addition to the meal. Although this recipe does have cheese in it, it is easy to veganize by omitting the Parmesan cheese from the pesto and by substituting the goat cheese for your favorite vegan cream cheese.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 loaf fresh baguette bread
1/4-1/2 cup fresh pesto (recipe to follow)
4 oz log of goat cheese (I used one with garlic and herbs)
1/2 medium eggplant
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 medium zucchini
1 small yellow summer squash
1 tomato (thinly sliced and cut in half)
handful of fresh baby spinach


Before doing anything, make the pesto (the recipe is below). After your pesto is all set, place your grill pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. You can use an outdoor grill too, but I live in New England and its the middle of March, so my grill has not come out yet. Once your grill pan is starting to heat up start chopping your veggies. I cut mine about half an inch thick, like this:


For the eggplant, your rings are going to be big, so I recommend cutting them into fourths, which makes it easier to build the sandwiches. Depending on the size of your squash and zucchini, you may want to do this as well or cut them in half. After you have all your veggies sliced, place them in a bowl and toss them with the olive oil until they are evenly coated.


Then you can start grilling. Try to space them evenly on the pan, so there is plenty of room for everyone. They are ready to be flipped when they look like this:


Your veggies may need a couple of turns on the grill. You want some nice grill marks and you want them to be a little soft too. When your veggies are all done, they should look like this:


I think what really makes this sandwich is toasting the bread on the grill pan. It gives it a great flavor and a great crunch. So once your veggies are done, cut your baguette bread into the sandwich sizes you want and spread a little olive oil on the fresh side. I love sourdough, so when I saw fresh organic sour dough baguettes at the store I immediately picked them over the whole wheat, but you can use whatever kind of baguette your heart desires.


Then start grilling. Keep an eye on these guys. You don't want to burn them and you want to make sure they are getting evenly toasted. When they are ready they should look something like this:


Once the bread is toasted you can start assembling your sandwiches. Spread some of your pesto on what is going to be your bottom side of the sandwich and on the top side spread some goat cheese. On top of the pesto build a layer of your grilled eggplant. On top of that build a layer of your zucchini and squash, alternating between the two. Top with a couple slices of your tomato and a few fresh spinach leaves. Place your prepared goat cheese top on your sandwich, pressing down a little, and your ready to gobble this sandwich up!

Pesto
4 oz fresh basil thinly chopped
1 garlic clove (minced)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts (coarsely chopped)

The first thing you want to do is chop your basil. It can be kind of difficult to chop this much basil, but I picked up a trick from Rachel Ray. Take some of your basil leaves and stack them, like this:


Then roll them like cigar leaves, so you have a long "tube" that looks like this:


Then you thinly slice the basil. Once you have the basil sliced, dice it slightly by giving a few chops length wise, so your basil now looks like this:

Keep working the basil like this until you have it all chopped. Then combine the rest of the ingredients, in your blender, food processor, etc. I place everything in a Pyrex container and used a hand held blender. It makes clean up super easy and I can just cap the left over basil and place it in the fridge for next time. Once all your ingredients are combined, blend them. You want a creamy consistency, so try to make sure there aren't any stray basil that didn't get blended. In the end your pesto should look like this:

Although this is enough pesto for these sandwiches and probably for a pizza sauce, it is not enough if you are going to use it as a past sauce. If you want to make pesto for pasta double the recipe, except for the garlic. This is a raw sauce, so one clove of garlic goes a long way.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
1 1/2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Sweet potatoes are like butternut squash, a little difficult to cut. Just use a big knife and slowly cut them into fourths. After they are in fourths, they are more manageable and you can switch back to your normal knife. Slice the potato pieces about half an inch thick and then cut each slice into half inch pieces, so you have a fry. Ultimately your fries should look like this:

Once all your fries are made, place them in a bowl and pour on the other ingredients. They may sound like your fries are going to be too sweet, but trust me the 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne goes a long way. Combine all the ingredients with your hands to make sure the fries are evenly coated.


Then spread them evenly on a cookie sheet and bake them at 400 for 20 minutes, flipping them after 10 minutes. I recommend making the fries before your sandwiches and placing them in the oven after you place your veggies on the grill. That way they come out of the oven at the same time that your sandwiches are ready. Dinner is served!