Double Pesto Grilled Veggie Sandwich

This grilled veggie sandwich with 2 types of pesto is the perfect recipe if you’re not ready to say goodbye to summer! It’s a perfect harmony of flavors and textures. I went with staple veggies in my house, like zucchini, eggplants, oyster mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions. Get creative and use different veggies and any type of protein you’d like, but keep the essence of the sandwich, which comes from grilling your ingredients and using the pestos. We use two different pestos for this sandwich. One is an umami savory sundried tomato pesto and the other is a fresh and earthy basil pesto. The two pair so well together and the contrast of the flavors takes your sandwich to a whole nother dimension.

You will be hearing the term “toss” a lot in this recipe. We use 1 bowl and the same seasonings to flavor each component. This will help our sandwich build depth of flavor. Seasoning your ingredients before putting them in a sandwich is going to prevent a bland sandwich. 

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Double Pesto Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Serving: 1 large sandwich

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 medium-sized eggplant
  • 1 medium-sized zucchini
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 green pepper
  • 200g oyster mushrooms
  • 2 cups(40g) arugula
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil (with a high smoke point)
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½ tsp paprika, cumin, garlic powder
  • 1 medium loaf of bread (I used whole grain)

Tomato pesto:

  • ⅓ cup (20g) Sun-dried tomatoes* 
  • ¼ cup (38g) walnuts or pine nuts
  • ½ tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp lemon zest
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Basil pesto:

  • ½ cup(7g) green basil
  • ¼ cup (38g) walnuts or pine nuts
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp lemon zest
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 1 garlic clove

 

Notes:

  • If you are using canned/jarred sundried tomatoes and therefore do not need to soak them beforehand, use ⅔  cup instead of ⅓ cup.

Instructions:

1. Let’s start with the sauces. For the sundried tomato pesto, soak the sundried tomatoes with ¾ cup of hot water. Cover with a plate and let it rehydrate while we prepare the other ingredients (skip this step if you are using jarred). Zest and juice one lemon, set half of the zest and juice aside for the basil pesto. Peel 2 large garlic cloves or 4 small cloves. We are using 1 large clove per pesto. In a tall container, add the soaked sundried tomatoes, walnuts, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper, and nutritional yeast. Use an immersion blender to blend everything until smooth and creamy. You can also use a blender. Use the soaking water from the tomatoes to thin out the sauce to your desired consistency. Taste for salt and lemon juice. Once the taste is adjusted, set aside.

2. In another tall container, add the reserved lemon juice and zest, fresh basil, garlic clove, nutritional yeast, olive oil, walnuts, mustard, and salt and pepper. Use the immersion blender to blend until nice and creamy. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon as needed. Set aside.

3. Clean the oyster mushrooms, cut the tough bottom, and tear them into individual caps. Cut the eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and onions into rounds. Slices should be thin, around ⅛ of an inch. Take half the sliced onions and place in a bowl, along with a dash of white vinegar and salt, set the onions aside.

4. Heat up a grill pan. While the pan is heating up, toss the sliced eggplants with a drizzle of neutral oil and salt. Once the pan is heated, brush the pan with neutral oil and grill the eggplant slices until soft and brown char on both sides. Remove the eggplants, brush the hot pan with oil, and add the zucchini slices. Let them char on both sides, around 1-2 minutes per side. Remove, oil the pan, and toss in the sliced peppers and onions. Let them caramelize for 2-3 minutes. While the onions and peppers are caramelizing, toss the mushroom caps with a drizzle of neutral oil and cumin, paprika, and garlic powder. Once the onions and peppers are done, remove from the pan and toss in the mushrooms. Don’t move them around until the edges are browned or they will water. Once the edges have browned, flip and let them cook on the other side. Salt them at the end, so they don’t water. Remove from the pan and set aside.

5. In a bowl, toss the washed and dried arugula with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

6. Time to assemble the sandwich. Cut the bread loaf in half (lengthwise). Toast the inside of the bread on the same grill pan we used earlier. Once the inside is nice and toasted, spread the tomato pesto we made earlier on one half, and the basil pesto on the other. Start placing your grilled veggies, and follow up with the dressed arugula. Try to layer them evenly so your sandwich doesn’t fall apart easily. Finish off with the basil pesto-covered half and you are done!