Roasted Veggie Sandwich

I’ve never been eggplant’s biggest fan.  That’s not to say I haven’t eaten a lot of it because my mom loves the purple schnoz.  But eggplant’s one veggie I could never fully stand behind.  And that’s rare because more and more as I get older, I like my vegetables (with the exception of parsnips…eww). From my experience, eggplant’s either undercooked, which makes me cringe when eating.  Or it’s always being forced to walk the plank and jump ship, left forever drowning in oil.  Neither have made eggplant become a stand out veggie for me.

That is, until I decided to throw it in with some veggies I was roasting.  As I said, my mom loves eggplant, so it always takes a spot in our garden.  Come summer time, we always have an abundance of it.  So when I was thinking up something to prepare for my lunch the next day, I decided on roasted veggies and thought I’d give eggplant another chance.

To my surprise the eggplant turned out to be my favorite part of this roasted veggie combo!  It’s takes on a sweetness from the olive oil, alongside the caramelized onions, without being overly saturated in grease.  I actually found myself picking out all the eggplant…not to say the other veggies weren’t good, but finally I found a way for eggplant to stand out for me.  I’ll definitely be making this again soon!

Roasted Veggie Sandwich

(Serves 4)

• -1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• -1 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• -1 medium-large zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• -3 shallots, diced
• -1 heaping Tbsp. fresh lemon thyme, chopped
• -2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• -1/3 cup olive oil
• -2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• -Roasted red peppers*
• -Coarsely ground salt and pepper
• -Vegenaise, optional
• -Bread

Preheat oven 400F.

In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, olive oil, vinegar, thyme, and shallots.  Toss with eggplant, onion, and zucchini.

Lightly grease or spray a large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Spread veggies on a single layer.  Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.  Bake 15-20 minutes on each side, or until eggplant is tender.

Spread both sides of bread with Vegenaise, if using.  Otherwise, just start layering the veggies and peppers right on the bread.  Serve.

*Bell peppers aren’t quite ready in my garden, so I used some jarred ones I already had on-hand. If you have fresh peppers available, feel free to add them to the mix of veggies and roast them up yourself.