Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich

Sandwiches are one of my favorite inventions in the world. You can pretty much carry around any food you like (except soup and ice cream!) inside two loaves of bread, and enjoy it wherever you happen to be, and whenever you feel like it. Gotta love it!

One of the things I like the most about sandwiches, is that they allow you to conceal, in a way, and enjoy without judgement, things that you wouldn’t usually eat on their own, but that you know your body would thrive on. For example, I was never a big salad person, (I know, that’s weird coming from a vegetarian), until one fine day, my friend Andrea introduced me to an amazing salad wrap place in NYC. All of a sudden, salad seemed like a delicious treat I craved and looked forward to eating, because all the flavors of the different veggies seemed to mysteriously come together and be enhanced inside the flatbread.

In the summer, I now love to eat lots of vegetables, and my favorite way to make them is in a sandwich. Sometimes I put such a large mountain of veggies, that it doesn’t fit in my mouth. What I do when this happens is I take out the top layer of bread and eat it as an open sandwich or bruschetta.

Today I decided to make a sandwich using Mediterranean flavors (my favorite), with Nakano’s Basil & Oregano Seasoned Rice Vinegar. I bought some good quality bread, roasted a red pepper, added artichoke hearts, steamed asparagus (I like them al dente), and some halloumi cheese, which I didn’t grill for lack of time, but is exquisite when grilled too, and gives the sandwich a whole different texture that way. Some salt and pepper, a splash of Nakano’s Basil & Oregano Vinegar, and not much else was needed. It was perfection. It always gets me excited when I find an easy-to-use product like this seasoned rice vinegar, which saves time, money, and has the same delicious effect as as if I had used all those ingredients separately. It’s light but full of flavor, which I find to be an awesome replacement for the traditional, unhealthy sandwich condiments or spreads that people use. I can’t wait to splash it over all my veggie dishes this summer to bring out the best in them.

As you can see, when it comes to eating more veggies, all it really comes down to is being creative, and having fun. You just need to find your sweet spot, and I guarantee  it will become a lifelong romance from then on.

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

• 2 good quality bread roll (I used spouted whole wheat)
• 1 pepper
• 1 cup artichokes
• 1/2 bunch green artichokes
• 1 pack halloumi cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nakano Basil & Oregano Seasoned Rice Vinegar

Preparation:

• Put the pepper over the stove’s flame for several minutes, turning around until it’s all black. You can also roast it in the oven.
• Put the pepper in a sealed, air-tight container for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, steam or blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 5-10 minutes
• Peel the pepper, and cut in thin strips.
• Cut the bread , and toast a little bit (I broiled it in the oven for 10 minutes).
• Put a layer of cheese slices on the bottom half of the bread. On top of it, put pepper slices, artichoke pieces, and some asparagus.
• Season with salt and pepper, and splash with Nakano Basil & Oregano Seasoned Rice Vinegar.

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Disclosure: We give thanks to Mizkan for being a SpanglishBaby sponsor.