The Ultimate Roasted Eggplant & Zucchini Ciabatta Sandwich
Amuse-Bouche
Recipe Style: A somewhat labor-intensive sandwich which is so worth it.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours but that includes time to caramelize the onions and roast the eggplant and zucchini.
Dietary Notes: Vegetarian but by no means a health food
Vegetarian sandwiches, for the most part, are pretty terrible.
Unless you’re in Philly in which case you go to Primo Hoagies and order a primo-sized Veggie Diablo, no long hots and add bruschetta.
Or if you’re in Paris and go to L’as du Fallafel and order un falafel special si vous plait.
But if you’re in South Florida? You’re basically stuck with a Pub Sub which, let’s face it, is essentially lettuce, tomatoes and onions on bread and not really all that great.
But, if this Liz Lemon inspired blog teaches you nothing else, let it teach you these two things:
This eternal truth:
and 2. - How to make the kind of vegetarian sandwich you deserve.
Ingredients
Mouthy Girl Pro-Tip: This seems like a lot of steps, but you've survived heartbreak, bad haircuts, the canceling of Santa Clarita Diet, and multiple stressful election cycles. You can handle a little multi-tasking for the sandwich of your dreams.
The Filling
Zucchini: 1 medium, cut into rounds
Japanese eggplant: 1 cut into rounds (Yes, it has to be the Japanese kind and not the globe kind unless you really like bitter eggplant skin).
Panko: ½ cup
Olive Oil: As needed
Smoked paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste
Cheese: Thinly sliced Fontina or sharp cheddar.
The Parsley Pesto
Flat-leaf Parsley: 1 bunch
Green onions: 2 stalks
Salted and shelled pistachios: ¼ cup. (You can use any kind of salted nuts you have laying around—peanuts, walnuts, almonds).
Jalapeño: 1, roughly chopped
Oil: As needed
Salt: To Taste
The Caramelized Onions
Onion: 1 medium
Fennel Seeds: 1 tablespoon
Salt: To taste
Oil: As needed
The Ricotta Spread
Ricotta: ¼ cup
Calabrian Chili Paste: 1 tablespoon. (I’ve also used salsa macha in this recipe and it turns out great. Trader Joe’s makes a good one)
Salt: To taste
Oil: As needed
The Bread
Ciabatta roll: 1, cut open
Extra-virgin olive oil: As needed
Directions
Step 1: Onions Don’t Caramelize In Ten Minutes
Add oil to a pan and heat on low.
When the oil starts to shimmer, add the fennel seeds and let them infuse for five minutes.
Add the thinly sliced onions, sprinkle with salt and cook on low heat for an hour and a half, checking in intermittently.
Once they’re brown, soft and jammy, they’re done.
Pull them from the heat and set aside.
Step 2: The Filling
Slice the cheese into thin slices and set aside.
Slice the eggplant into thin rounds, soak in salted water, rinse after ten minutes and let dry while you cut the zucchini.
Slice the zucchini into thin rounds.
Arrange the zucchini and eggplant on an oiled baking dish and season with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder and garlic powder.
Sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F.
Remove from oven and set aside.
Step 3: The Parsley Pesto
Wash the vegetables - parsley, green onions and jalapeño and throw them into a blender. I use a Magic Bullet and it works great.
Add nuts, salt and oil and blitz.
It might be a little thick, so thin it out with a little water until it reaches the desired consistency - think hummus or muhammara; an unctious paste.
Set aside.
Step 4: The Ricotta
Add ¼ cup of ricotta into a bowl.
Add a tablespoon of Calabrian chili paste (or salsa macha) and mix until incorporated.
Set aside.
Step 5: The Bread
Slice a ciabatta roll into two halves.
Drizzle with olive oil and toast to desired doneness.
Step 5: The Assembly
Spread one half of the bread with the ricotta paste.
Add a layer of zucchini and eggplant on top of the ricotta.
Slather the caramelized onions on top of the eggplant and zucchini.
Add a layer of cheese on top of the caramelized onions.
On the other side of the bread, slather a thick layer of the parsley pesto.
Close the sandwich and press down hard.
Serve with jalapeño potato chips, a cold glass of rosé or an icy Diet Coke.
