Roasted vegetable pressed sandwich

Have you had a pressed sandwich?  Layers of ingredients on a loaf of bread, spread with tasty things and pressed for several hours to allow the flavors to meld.  Delicious.  Generally, they’re made with preserved meat(like salami or cappicola) and cheese. I’ve been making them with roasted vegetables for a while now, and I think this is my favourite combo by far.

This is an amazing thing to take on a picnic.  Not only does it get better with age, if you want it hot you can just throw the whole thing on the grill-because it is pressed it will stay together just fine!

Recipe:

one loaf of bread, any rustic bakery type.  I used an italian loaf fron my grocery store’s bakery

one sweet potato, peeled and sliced into slices approximately 1/4 inch

one zucchini, sliced

one onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices

3 portobello mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

6 slices provolone cheese

2 plum tomatoes, sliced

4 tbsp olive oil, divided use

1 tbsp prepared pesto

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Start by roasting the veggies.  Preheat the oven to 450.  Take two baking sheets, put the mushroom slices, zucchini and unpeeled garlic cloves on one, and the onion and sweet potatoes on the other.  Drizzle them with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and salt and pepper them generously. Roast them in the oven-the mushrooms, garlic and zucchini will be done first, in about 10-15 minutes, and the onions and sweet potatoes 5-10 minutes later.  Let the vegetables cool to room temperature.

Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Squeeze the cooled garlic cloves out of their skins and mash them with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.  spread it on the top bread slice.  Mix the pesto and remaining tbsp of olive oil and spread it on the bottom piece of bread.

Now layer on the vegetables.  Layer the mushrooms on the bottom slice of bread, and the onions over that.  Layer the cheese in next.  Next layer is the sweet potatoes, then the tomatoes and the zucchini last.  Top with the other piece of bread.

Wrap up the whole thing tightly in plastic wrap.  Put a weight on top (I used a cast iron skillet) for an hour or so.  Remove the weight, and serve within 24 hours.

Serves 2-4

Spinach Sauce

This is a recipe from my childhood.  Something my mom came up with that became a family favorite.  It is lightening fast-you can have the sauce done from beginning to end in the time it takes to cook dry pasta.  It’s also very healthful and absolutely delicious.  It sounds a bit odd, but just try it-you’ll be a convert!

I hate the texture of cooked greens, but love the flavor of spinach, so this is a favourite of mine.  It can also be done with an equal amount of pretty much any relatively tender green, like chard.   Use whatever type of pasta you prefer, we always had it on spaghetti growing up, but I put it on anything.  This batch we had with gorgonzola medaglioni, which was really super.

Recipe:

2 6oz bags spinach, baby or mature, it doesn’t matter

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

3/4 C milk

Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste

1lb dry pasta

Put a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.  meanwhile, make the sauce.

In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic until it’s translucent.  Add the spinach and cook until it has completely wilted. (add the pasta to the pot whenever it starts boiling)

Transfer the veggies to a blender and blend with the milk.  Check the pasta, and when it’s done drain it and put it back in the pot.

Toss sauce with the hot pasta and add Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6

Spring Vegetable Pie

Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t like pie?  If so, they should probably be examined for sanity.

Pies are one of those infinitely versatile things.  sweet or savory, healthy or not, any ingredients you wish, pie can do it!  This is a slightly french inspired spring vegetable pie with a mildly creamy gravy.  It’s a perfect meal for those days when it feels like spring, but the weather is still chilly enough to want something substantial.

The pie crust here is the culmination of years of trying to figure out the secret to a really good whole wheat pie crust.  All too often whole wheat pastry tends to be soggy, or rock hard, or tough, or any number of fatal pastry flaws.  This crust, however, is nutty tasting, light and flaky, and BONUS-stays delicious even after the pie has sat for several days in the fridge.   You can substitute shortening for the butter and have an equally good crust-even flakier than the butter crust-but with the whole wheat flour I prefer the flavor that butter adds.   If you have a food processor, you’ll want to use it here.  It’s not hard to make a pie crust by hand, but the food processor does it so much better.

Recipe:

Filling-

2tbsp butter

2 leeks, rinsed and sliced

1 potato, scrubbed and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

2 C vegetable broth

1.5tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp white pepper

1C milk

2 tbsp flour

8 stalks asparagus, cut into bite size pieces

1 C frozen peas

2 green onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced

1/4 C minced parsley

salt to taste

Crust-

2C whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 C butter

1 tsp salt

1/2-1C cold water

Preheat the oven to 350.

First, make the crust.  If you have a food processor, put the flour, salt and butter in and pulse till it resembles coarse crumbs.  Slowly drizzle in the water while continuing to pulse, stopping when the dough comes together into a ball.  If you do not have a food processor, cut the butter into the flour and salt with a fork or a pastry cutter, and then stir the water in tablespoon by tablespoon, until it is a dough.

Cover the dough and set aside to rest while you make the filling.

In a small to medium pot, saute the leeks in the butter until they’re just beginning to soften.  Then add the potatoes, carrots, thyme, white pepper and broth.  cover and simmer for 15 min or until the potatoes are almost done.  Whisk the flour into the milk and add to the pot.  Cook until it thickens, stirring to prevent lumps.  Once the liquid has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the asparagus, peas, parsley and green onion.  Taste, and add however much salt you think it needs.

Now back to the crust.  Cut it into two equal pieces and roll the first one out on parchment paper or a floured countertop.  Line the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch standard pie pan and trim the excess from the edges.  Pour in the filling from the pot, roll out the other crust, and lay it on top.  Trim off the excess crust and pinch the edges of the top and bottom crusts together.  Cut some vent holes in the top and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until it is golden brown and delicious looking.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 1 8 or 9 inch pie.  Serves 4-6