It’s been unusually warm here in Oklahoma lately.
Well, actually yesterday and today have been a little cooler, and by that I mean more along the lines of normal April weather (temps in the 70′s).
Last week, the high temperatures were generally in the 80′s, and on Sunday it even got into the 90′s. Very weird for the end of March, beginning of April, no?
At our house, we just with it. Preview of summer? Okay then! Let’s crank the A/C and fire up the grill! And fire up the grill I did.
I wanted something quick, healthy, and tasty that wouldn’t heat up the kitchen any more than necessary. Grilling is great when it’s hot for that very reason. It’s usually easy, often tasty, and it won’t heat up your kitchen at all (unless for some odd reason your grill is in your kitchen, which is probably a huge safety no no, and generally just a bad idea).
I decided to make grilled veggie sandwiches on ciabatta rolls, which ended up being really really good. For my vegetables, I grilled sliced onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and eggplant (but feel free to use whatever you like). I cut the ciabatta rolls in half, buttered them, and toasted them on the grill as well. To serve them, I put pesto and mayonnaise on the rolls, some of the grilled veggies, and mozzarella cheese (again, use whatever cheese you want/have).
These were really simple and fast, but oh so good! I will definitely be making these throughout the summer!
Serve them with your favorite salad or vegetable. Cole slaw and grilled corn on the cob come to mind.
After 4 years of not being able to have a grill in Japan, I’m looking forward to grilling everything I can this summer! Bring it on!
Grilled Veggie and Pesto Sandwiches
(serves 5 – 7)
- 1 large eggplant
- 2 zucchini
- 1 onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- ciabatta rolls
- butter
- pesto
- mayonnaise
- mozzarella cheese (or any sliced cheese of your choice)
- Heat up grill on high for a few minutes, then lower heat to medium.
- Slice eggplant and zucchini. Chop onion and green bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
- Grill vegetables until tender, flipping eggplant and zucchini slices once, and stirring onion and bell pepper around. Remove to a serving plate.
- Cut ciabatta rolls in half, and butter each half lightly. Grill, buttered side down, until slightly brown and toasted. Remove to a serving plate.
- To serve, spread pesto and mayonnaise on ciabatta rolls. Place grilled veggies and sliced cheese between rolls halves and enjoy.
