Necessity being the mother of invention, I was snowed in and hungry for a warm, roasted, messy Greekish sandwich. So I began lining up ingredients I had on hand out of the fridge, beginning with:
Eggplant (peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thin... about 4-5 slices per sandwich)
Red Pepper (roasted on top of gas burner, put in plastic wrap until steamy, peeled and sliced.. a couple of nice 2 inch by 4 inch slices per sandwich. Or use some from a jar.)
Red or Yellow Onions (sliced... about 1/4 of a big onion per sandwich)
Into a large skillet with a generous pour of olive oil, toss in a smashed garlic clove and stir to flavor the oil. Then add the veggies above, sprinkle lightly with sea salt and pepper, and saute until they are golden brown on all sides. Remove from skillet, put on a plate, sprinkle with a good Italian dressing (I like balsamic) and toss the veggies until coated. Then cover plate to keep warm.
Ingredients for 2nd Part of Recipe:
Good sliced bread, 2 slices
1 -2 T. crumbled feta
1 T. sliced pepperoncinis or banana peppers (little light green pickled peppers)
1- 2 T. of mayo or Ranch Dressing for spreading
Few thin slices avocado
Sprigs cilantro or parsley or fresh basil tucked in if you like
In the meantime: put 2 slices of your favorite sandwich bread (I like a good light, white sliced French boule from Whole Foods bakery for this) in the pan, allowing it to soak up some of the garlic oil until it is also browned and crisp on one side (or grill both sides if you like).
Next, spread one side of the two slices with your choice of mayonnaise or Ranch Dressing. Sprinkle one slice with crumbled feta and pepperoncini peppers. Top this with sliced avocado.
On the other slice layer the roasted veggies that have been lightly marinating. Put these two bad boys together anyway you can. It WILL be messy, but aren't the best things in life?
Slice sandwich at a diagonal.... go some place private with a large cloth napkin and enjoy, eyes occasionally raised toward heaven in gratitude.
