Just Cook It: Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Roasted Shallot Hummus
Amanda Steen | 缅北禁地
Chef Mario Porreca makes a Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Roasted Shallot Hummus on the set of Just Cook It at 4th Street Barbeque in Charleroi.
Amanda Steen | 缅北禁地
Vegetable ingredients used for Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Roasted Shallot Hummus.
Amanda Steen | 缅北禁地
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Roasted Shallot Hummus is delicious in any season but even more so in the summer when fresh vegetables are available for use.
You鈥檝e probably noticed that I鈥檓 a big fan of seasonal foods. I鈥檝e always lived by the rule that you should set yourself up for success anyway that you possibly can. No matter how big or small the detail, if it helps in some capacity then I believe you should take advantage of the opportunity.
I鈥檝e seen some very talented and well-known chefs say that ingredients don鈥檛 matter. If you know how to utilize different ingredients than you should be able to take anything and make it taste good. They believe that this 鈥渢rend鈥� of fresh ingredients being in vogue is something that garners too much attention.
I鈥檓 here to tell you that I don鈥檛 care how talented or famous they are, they are wrong. I鈥檓 not going to name them here, but they know who they are and they are entitled to their opinion, even if it is incorrect.
I believe that ingredients make all the difference in the world. For instance, you wouldn鈥檛 want to highlight fresh tomatoes during the winter season. Thanks to modern technology you can purchase fresh tomatoes during the winter season, but they aren鈥檛 going to be as delicious and flavorful as they are during the summer season.
When you utilize ingredients during their own unique peak season they are going to have a fresh feel about them and be more flavorful. Growing ingredients in an artificial controlled environment just doesn鈥檛 create the same product as growing it in nature in its natural environment.
If you would like a real world example of this, go to the local supermarket and purchase a regular red tomato. Then go to a local farmer and purchase a fresh tomato of the same variety. Cut each and taste them side-by-side.
The first time I tried this experiment I did it with a carrot instead of a tomato, but the results were the same. It blew my mind how much different a regular bulk supermarket carrot tasted compared to the flavor of a fresh carrot.
The fresh carrot tasted like a carrot, it was sweet and complex and you could even slightly taste the vitamin and mineral content. It had a deliciously pleasant taste and you could tell that it was good for you. It was almost like it was exactly what my body was craving.
The bulk supermarket carrot didn鈥檛 taste like much of anything. It had the texture of a carrot but was bland and almost tasted lifeless. It wasn鈥檛 very exciting and, to be honest, I could take it or leave it.
After realizing the vast difference between the two carrots, I realized that this was most likely one of the reasons why we as Americans don鈥檛 particularly enjoy vegetables. Vegetables are delicious and for the most part are extremely healthy for us. Our bodies crave the minerals that should be present in vegetables more than anything.
The problem is that when the ground is over farmed and herbicides and pesticides are used it greatly manipulates our produce, and not for the better. All of what I just mentioned actually kills the ecosystem in the soil that is responsible for turning a rock mineral into a usable form for plants to then uptake through their root systems. If the plants don鈥檛 get the minerals then neither do we. We actually are what we eat.
I know what you鈥檙e thinking: Where exactly am I going with all of this? I鈥檒l tell you 鈥� the moral of the story is that ingredients do matter. They matter not only for flavor, but also for our bodies.
When purchasing fresh produce I first and foremost go organic as much as possible. Buying organic is a bit more expensive, but in my opinion it is well worth it. I am serious about what I put into my body and I will gladly pay a little more for a superior product.
If going organic is a strain on your budget, then you can visit www.ewg.org. The Environmental Working Group has created a nifty little document called 鈥淭he Dirty Dozen鈥� and the 鈥淐lean Fifteen.鈥� The Dirty Dozen are a dozen items that you should definitely buy organic above all else and the Clean Fifteen are fifteen items that you don鈥檛 necessarily have to buy organic.
Let me finish this thought by saying that it never hurts to go organic, so when in doubt it鈥檚 always better to buy organic when possible.
Next, I鈥檇 like to say that I absolutely love to shop for fresh ingredients at farmers markets or buy from local farmers and purveyors when possible. I already discussed this in detail in last week鈥檚 鈥淛ust Cook It鈥� column so you can get my thoughts on this subject at HeraldStandard.com.
This brings us to this month鈥檚 recipe. The recipe that I chose to highlight this month I chose for a couple of reasons. It is one of the recipes from my cookbook, 鈥淭he Good, The Bad, The Cookbook鈥� which you can purchase from my website at www.MarioPorreca.com.
This recipe is one of the most popular sandwich recipes from my book. It is surprising because this sandwich is made completely with grilled vegetables. Well, there is pepper jack cheese on it and it鈥檚 a sandwich so it is obviously made with bread. I鈥檇 like to note that it is made with hearty whole-grain bread, but other than that the sandwich is made from all vegetables.
It鈥檚 surprising because my book also includes recipes for Crab Cake Sliders, Cajun Beef Sliders, and Turkey-Apricot Sliders. The grilled vegetable sandwich being at the top of the list just threw me for a loop 鈥� in a good way.
The sandwich is very filling and packs a lot of flavor. I can confidently say that even strict meat eaters will thoroughly enjoy this sandwich. The Cajun spice adds a layer of flavor complexity and the squash, zucchini, and Portobello mushroom add substance and almost a meaty feel to the sandwich.
The grilled tomato and red onion add another delicious sweet and acidic layer of flavor. Grilled red onions and grilled tomatoes are flat out delicious by themselves, but added to this sandwich add a much needed flavor addition to the meatiness of the squash, zucchini, and Portobello.
Finally, what really sets this sandwich over the top is the roasted shallot hummus. Shallots are like small onions but their flavor is richer, sweeter and yet more potent. When they are slow roasted as specified in the recipe below they become sweet and delicious.
Traditional hummus is made from cooked mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. The recipe that I created for this sandwich is a bit different than traditional hummus. I wanted the roasted shallots to really shine through and wanted to keep the recipe super simple.
For those reasons I chose to make the hummus without the tahini and lemon juice. I kept it simple and pure, if you will, by pureeing the chickpeas with the roasted shallots, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Yes, I still call it hummus and I can do that because it is my recipe that gives me poetic license to do so.
Feel free to use either ground white or fresh cracked black pepper in your humus. I鈥檝e made it both ways and it is delicious either way. The great thing about the hummus is that the recipe makes more than you will need for the sandwich. You can use what you need to make your sandwich and then use the rest as a dip for vegetables, pita chips, or anything else that you can imagine.
It鈥檚 a very fresh and delicious straightforward recipe. You can watch a video of me making the sandwich at HeraldStandard.com. Check out the video and make the sandwich as a way to enjoy the fresh produce and vegetables that summer has to offer.
The season will be over before you know it, so take advantage of it while you can. Eat your vegetables, that鈥檚 what my mother always told me, and I always listen to mom.
Mario Porreca of Belle Vernon is a food personality, entrepreneur, author and radio host. His website is www.MarioPorreca.com. Twitter: @MarioPorreca
Vegetable Sandwich with Roasted Shallot Hummus
Yield: 1 sandwich
1 yellow squash, sliced 录 inch thick (3 slices per sandwich)
1 zucchini, sliced 录 inch thick (3 slices per sandwich)
1 Portobello mushroom, stem and gills removed and ends trimmed
1 Roma tomato, sliced lengthwise into 3 slices
1 slice medium-sized red onion, 录 inch thick
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1陆 tablespoons Paul Prudhomme鈥檚 Vegetable Magic
2 slices multigrain bread
2 slices jalapeno jack cheese
1 recipe Roasted Shallot Hummus (see additional recipe)
Procedure:
1. In a large mixing bowl, toss all vegetables with the extra virgin olive oil and Paul Prudhomme鈥檚 Vegetable Magic.
2. Grill each vegetable (except portobello mushroom) at 350 degrees for approximately 8 minutes on 1 side only. For portobello mushroom, grill at same temperature for 4 minutes and then flip to other side for final 4 minutes (turn once during grilling).
3. Transfer grilled vegetables to a dinner plate or platter until ready to assemble sandwich.
4. Grill each slice of bread on each side just until grill marks appear.
5. To assemble sandwich, place one slice of jalapeno jack cheese on each slice of bread. Spread a thin layer of the roasted shallot hummus on top of each sandwich half. Build the sandwich on one slice of the bread (already layered with the cheese and hummus).
Arrange in the following order: Zucchini, red onion, tomato, portobello mushroom and yellow squash. Place the other piece of dressed bread on the top to complete the sandwich and serve.