Sometimes I Just Have to….
I often find myself craving a delicious sandwich we discovered many years ago at a little bakery (no longer in business) in Boulder, Colorado.
Building on the delightful combination of Tomato/Basil/Mozzarella, they substituted roasted red pepper for the tomato, added eggplant, Romain lettuce and Balsamic Vinaigrette on Kalamata olive bread creating an amazing sandwich.
Over the years, I have satisfied my craving for this sandwich and the incredible flavor of these combined ingredients with my own versions. In the last few years, I have been avoiding bread, but I still have to satisfy my craving for this flavor combo (it has become one of my ‘soul’ foods), so I increase the lettuce and add Kalamata olives to the other ingredients making a delightfully healthy and flavorful salad.
Sometimes, though, when I find a really mouthwatering loaf of crusty Artesian olive bread, I just have to have the sandwich version. This happened recently while visiting my sister-in-law and her husband. I volunteered to make sandwiches for that day. Adapting to their kitchen, yet another version has been created using a Panini grill and going back to the tomatoes. My sister-in-law has since reported their variation of adding garlic butter to the bread before grilling.
I have learned that grilling the eggplant is the easiest way to prepare it, (and allows me to cook up a lot at one time to have for later). Also fresh grilled red peppers (at the same time with the eggplant) or easily roasted under the broiler are better than out of a jar. The basil is best when sliced into thin strips, and FRESH Mozzarella is the only way to go!
