For the sloppiest sandwich ever, look no further. Tons of spicy roasted veggies and a quick guac topped with my Sweet & Tangy Green Chile-Chipotle-Cilantro Dressing. Go at it with a fork and knife or bare hands and a bib.
(I shared this recipe on The Veggie Nook for Healthy Vegan Friday!)
Mexican-Spiced Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches
Makes 4-5
Roasted Vegetables:
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 heaping tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. dried onion flakes
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. Chipotle Tabasco
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 small eggplant, sliced into rounds
1 small yellow squash, sliced into rounds
1 small zucchini, sliced into rounds
4-5 cremini mushrooms, quartered
4-5 baby red or white potatoes, thinly sliced
juice of 1/2 a lime
chopped cilantro, for garnish
Guacamole:
2 avocados
1/2 tsp. cumin
splash Chipotle Tabasco
juice of 1/2 a lime
Sweet & Tangy Green Chile-Chipotle-Cilantro Dressing, to taste
4 really good, crusty rolls (that’s homemade pan Siciliano in the photos), sliced
Make the vegetables:
Preheat the oven to 425F. In a large bowl, combine the broth through the potatoes and toss to coat the veggies with the sauce.
Roast the vegetables until tender – stirring occasionally – for 25-30 minutes. You can serve these right away, stirring in the lime juice and cilantro, or eat at room temperature.
Make the guacamole:
In a small bowl, mash the avocado with the cumin, Tabasco, and lime juice. Set aside.
Build the sandwich:
Lightly toast or warm the bread halves. Divide the guacamole between the bottom halves of the bread. Top with roasted veggies, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle on more cilantro, if desired.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks I encountered after making the decision to severely reduce the amount of oil I used in cooking and baking was how to make salad dressing. I was completely stumped. Red wine vinaigrette with copious amounts of olive oil had been my go-to dressing. For ideas I turned to Ann Esselstyn’s recipes in Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. They filled the gap, but I wasn’t thrilled with them; I needed a whole heck of a lot more flavor. Adding nuts to a basic oil-free dressing created that nice, creamy richness I craved and took the edge off of the tang of vinegar. From there it was just a matter of adding my favorite flavors.
Kel and I average 5 salads per week which means about 20 salads each month – hey, that’s a lot of greens, sure – but it also means preparing and consuming a lot of salad dressing. Which means that I’m constantly thinking up new combinations of acids and bases. This one contains no nuts and gets its sweetness from a small amount of fruit preserves.
When I was growing up there were two distinct camps: the Mayonnaise camp (in my neck of the woods, Hellman’s brand) and the Salad Dressing camp (Miracle Whip). It all depended on what your mom used on the sandwiches she made and in our house, mom used Hellman’s. No-way-no-how those of us in the Hellman’s camp wanted our tuna salad or bologna, cheese and potato chip (yes, chips ON the sandwich) sangies to have even a hint of sweetness! And if your best friend’s mom used Miracle Whip, well, that could mean the quick demise of a beautiful friendship.
When it comes to salad dressing, I’m on auto-pilot. It takes me mere seconds to whip up an oil-free vinaigrette and it’s really light and wonderful – but – it’s getting a bit tired. Enter the ripe tomatoes Kel has been bringing in from the garden. In went some olives and miso because everything tastes better with them. The dates temper the tangy acid and the vegetable broth lends richness. Takes almost as much time to make this as it does my old standby dressing. Vary this by using fresh herbs instead of dry or a different vinegar.