Roasted Vegetable Sandwich

This has been a week of goat cheese. Tangy, creamy, so delicious. It seems to be appropriate in many uses. I especially love it spread on sandwiches (try it on a BLT!!!). The vegetables in the base of this sandwich are startlingly similar to the Grilled Balsamic Vegetables I featured in the Barbecued Corned Beef post, and you are most welcome to substitute those (I highly recommend using leftover grilled veggies as a sandwich filling--they're especially good in a pita!). In fact, these started on the grill, but the high winds we are prone to experiencing out here on the edge of the Eastern Plains of Colorado kept blowing out the flame on my grill (blast!). Well, cooking definitely invites improvisation and so I finished the vegetables in the oven. Feel free to use whichever cooking method is more convenient.

Roasted Vegetable Sandwich
1 baguette, split lengthwise and cut into 4-6 sandwich-sized lengths
1 eggplant, cut into thin slices
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
salt
1 small yellow squash, sliced lengthwise
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
olive oil (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup prepared balsamic vinaigrette

2 tablespoons prepared pesto
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
about 4 oz. goat cheese
2 cups cut up lettuce (I used Italian blend with Romaine and Radicchio, and it was yummy!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the eggplant first and spread it out in a single layer on paper towels. Generously salt the slices of eggplant and allow to rest while you are preparing the rest of the vegetables. This will draw out some of the extra moisture. Once the rest of the vegetables have been prepared, gently blot the eggplant to remove the extra water, give them a quick rinse to remove the excess salt, and pat with paper towel to dry. Arrange vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet (you may have to use two or stagger roasting the vegetables). Drizzle with olive oil. Roast in a 450 degree oven, flipping once, until vegetables are tender and browned (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and toss with balsamic vinaigrette.

In a small dish, mix together mayonnaise and pesto. Spread about 1 tablespoon of pesto mayonnaise on baguette lengths. Also spread a generous amount of goat cheese on each piece of bread. Arrange vegetables on each sandwich and top with some lettuce. Fold over and squish down so that you can actually fit all that goodness into your mouth. Simple, simple.

It would also be great to add some grilled sliced chicken, if you're getting tired of the vegetarian theme. I am finding we just don't eat that much meat in the summertime...I guess we'll say we are doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint, but really I think it's more that I've been too lazy.