Grilled veggie sandwich: celebrating the end of summer with two secret ingredients to match :-)

Keeping the family happy and well-fed this summer has been easy thanks to a marvelous piece of technology: the grill! We bought our first outdoor grill back in June, and now we finally know what we’ve been missing out on. Grilling outdoors has made our weekends memorable, and our journey through charred flavors has been exciting and rewarding. Gone are the days of using a grill pan for our grilling needs. It’s grill pan out (for now), outdoor grill in! 🙂

We have grilled…

… and grilled…

…and grilled some more! 😉

Unsurprisingly, I have used grilled veggies in panini and sandwiches a lot this summer. To enhance their flavor and appeal, I have paired them with one of my latest culinary discoveries:  Peruvian Sweety Drop peppers.

I’m a big fan of peppadew peppers (check out some recipes here and here), which I first discovered at a food festival in the UK. I recently fell in love with these peppers’ distant relatives (imo, anyway), Peruvian Sweety Drop peppers, whose gorgeous look is complemented by equally gorgeous flavor and texture.

Mildly spicy and assertive, these peppers pop in your mouth when you eat them, leaving a trail of delicious sweetness behind, and can be eaten on their own or in pizzas, sandwiches or salads. I really like the popping effect of these peppers, and I think their deep red color is nothing short of spectacular.

As you know, I’m all about using every ingredient to the fullest, and I’m happy to report no exception from this rule has been made during our grilling bonanza. Recently I had a nearly empty jar of sun-dried tomatoes in the fridge and I was wondering what to do with the leftover extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) – throwing it away just didn’t seem reasonable to me. In the end, I decided to brush our veggies with this oil prior to grilling.

Having this oil available was one of my culinary life’s “happy accidents.” No worries if you don’t have it in your pantry/fridge: any infused EVOO will do.

Take the sliced veggies and cover them in sun-dried tomato flavored EVOO uniformly, by using a brush.

Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Spread the veggies on the preheated grill and cook for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and soft, turning them once during grilling.

When cooked, take the veggies off the grill, place them in a medium bowl, and set aside.

Cut the baguette roll in half lengthwise and scoop out the inside. Using a brush, moisten the inside of the roll with sun-dried tomato flavored EVOO.

Cut the portobello mushroom in half and place it on the half roll which is going to make up the bottom of the sandwich.

Add the grilled sliced potatoes…

…then add the arugula.

Continue by adding the grilled onion pieces and the Peruvian Sweety Drop peppers.

Also add the Emmental cheese and the grilled pepper, which has been skinned and sliced.

Gently place the grilled cocktail tomatoes on top of the pepper.

Finish off with the other half roll, and press gently to allow the sandwich elements to blend in together.

Here it is: the perfect summer grilling inspired sandwich! Serve it warm as a light dinner…

… or as a breakfast item. Your family will love you for it either way 🙂

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