Category Archives: Sandwich

Greek Sandwich with Roasted Vegetables and Tzatziki

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GreekSand_HalfLike so many of the things I make at home, this dish was inspired after enjoying Greek shish kebab sandwiches in restaurants for years. Mine isn’t a difficult recipe, though it does have a few steps and specific ingredients that you need to bring in those glorious Mediterranean flavors you’re expecting. And, of course, my version is more healthful than you’ll find in most other places, which generally use full-fat yogurt and white pita. My recipe includes nonfat Greek yogurt that you’ll flavor yourself with extra-virgin olive oil and subs in whole wheat pita for a fiber and nutrient boost. This light supper or lunch definitely fills my craving for a traditional Greek sandwich and makes a wonderful dinner when paired with a Greek salad.

Turn your oven up to 450 degrees F and let’s get cooking.

1. Cut a selection of vegetables into large chunks. Go for variety in color and texture for the best nutrient and culinary boost. My mix varies by season, mood, and what I have in the fridge; mushrooms are a favorite, but I didn’t have any on hand this time around. (Tofu chunks also work nicely in this recipe if you’re wanting more protein in your sandwich.) Toss the vegetables with olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper, and mix in crushed garlic, dried oregano, and fresh oregano if you have it. Oregano is the key. You’ll need a few teaspoons, probably, depending on how many veggies you’re cooking.

GreekVeggies

Today’s late summer mix included red and green peppers, a variety of squashes, and onions. (The dill was used in the tzatziki.)

2. Roast in the oven 20-40 minutes, until cooked and nicely browned in spots. (Picture is pre-cooked. Note the amount of oregano coating the veggies.) During the summer, you can certainly grill the vegetables in true shish kebab style, if you prefer; I live in a grill-less condo.

Greek_RoastedVeg

Once the vegetables start roasting, your house will be redolent of olive oil, garlic, and oregano, the warm flavors of Greek cooking.

3. Prepare tzatziki, the wonderful yogurt sauce that is the other central component to the authenticity and taste of this dish; here’s the recipe.

Tzatziki

Fresh dill, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice are the keys to a traditional Greek yogurt sauce. Click on the picture for the recipe.

4. Assemble on whole grain pita of your choice. I’ve always loved the thicker, flat bread pita that I fold in my hand or eat with a knife and fork: slather some on the pita and then mound veggies directly on the bread, serving with extra sauce on the side (pictured above) or drizzled on top (pictured below). Another option is stuffing the veggies into a pocket pita, which would be fun for kids or a smaller portion (can’t find those photos, sorry, but you know what I mean).

GreekSand_Saucy

A little messy, I know, but I like things saucy. Use as much or as little tzatziki as your  heart desires.

Not much else to say other than dig in! It’s time to start making these crazy healthy sandwiches at home, and your kids will love eating them just as much as you will.

P.K. NewbyDr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She is currently training for the Boston Marathon, her third (more here, and here). She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my cooking videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading!

French Radish Sandwiches, the P.K. Way

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I can’t quite remember how or when I was first introduced to the notion of a radish sandwich, so I would not be surprised if you, too, found it unusual. It is popular fare in France, however, where French breakfast radishes are simply sliced atop white bread with butter and salt. (They are also popular in Montréal, where my father grew up eating them.) The sandwiches can also be served deconstructed on a platter with radishes, butter, salt, and sliced baguette for guests to create their own; this makes an elegant hors d’oeuvre that no doubt introduces guests to something new, at least here in the United States.

Crostini: It’s Not Just For Tomatoes, You Know

People always think of tomatoes when it comes to crostini, and goodness knows I’ve made tons of those over the years. Yet, ever inspired by radish roots and leaves, I recently created my own take on the French radish sandwich by serving mixed radishes atop crostini with garlic and herb butter. Some also included a few sautéed radish greens to bump up the nutrition and flavor profile. Today is the right day to share the recipe with you in light of my recent trip to Montréal. As well, if you live in the northeastern US, radishes are currently in season and lots of different varieties can be found at your local farmers’ market, if you’re lucky. I encourage you to think beyond the tomato and give this satisfying recipe for radish crostini a try.

1. Make the herb butter. Mix crushed garlic, chopped parsley and chives, and a touch of EVOO into softened butter.

2. Wash and slice radishes. Use whatever you can find and whichever you like. I enjoy using a mixture of colors and flavors like watermelon, purple, and the traditional French breakfast (top to bottom)

3. Prepare crostini. Thinlly slice a French baguette and brush with olive oil. Toast in a hot oven (425F) about 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and crispy, turning over half-way through.

4. Sauté radish greens in a bit of EVOO with a touch of salt, garlic, and black pepper, just as you would any other green. (Raw greens are pictured.) You could certainly also use raw greens if you’d rather, I just felt like cooking them for some reason.

5. Assemble the crostini. Spread a bit of butter on each crostini then top with a few sautéed greens and radishes. Next, sprinkle each with a bit of kosher or other large-flaked salt; this is an important step that really brings out the flavors. For presentation and variety, I served half with cooked radish greens and half with raw microgreens; both were delicious.

So, perhaps you’ve never heard of French breakfast radishes, let alone radish sandwiches or radish crostini. But, seriously, what’s not to like about sweet and crunchy radishes, creamy garlicky herb butter, and crisp French baguette?

That’s all I’m saying.

P.K. NewbyDr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my cooking videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading!

Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Pesto and Two Cheeses

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Not as excited about grilled vegetables on their own as I am? Then do I have the recipe for you! The sandwiches I created last weekend while visiting my in-laws on Cape Cod almost made me stand up and cheer, because the idea arose organically (pardon the pun) earlier that day based upon my farmers’ market bounty and need to take advantage of an available outdoor grill. Isn’t that gorgeous looking? Very, very tasty, too. I was so pleased with the results and urge you to give this one a try next time you want to do a little something different on the grill.

Here’s the how-to.

1. Grill the veggies, as discussed here. I was inspired to use whole portabellos, scallions, tomatoes, and Tuscan kale, but use whatever vegetables make you happy. (See cook’s notes section at the foot of this post.)

2. Grill the bread. Ciabatta is a great choice, as it’s relatively flat and I found the perfectly sized loaf to create sandwiches for four people. Had I the time, I would’ve whipped up a pan of focaccia with caramelized onions, which would have worked better because it’s softer and easier to eat. But, er, I have a job. Several, in fact. So a fresh loaf from the bakery sufficed. No pictures, sorry, but all you need to do is cut the loaf in half horizontally, brush with olive oil, and grind on a bit of pepper. You could add crushed garlic to the bread if you like, but I was trying to keep things moving along and there’s plenty of garlic in the pesto. Grill each side for a few minutes, until lightly toasted, ~2-3 minutes each side.

3. Melt the cheese by placing slices of mozzarella (preferably fresh or buffalo) into the cap of each portabello and placing back on the grill for a few minutes.

4. Assemble the sandwich by spreading pesto on each side of the bread and goat cheese on one half. Layer the vegetables. (I did kale on the bottom, then mushrooms, tomatoes, and scallions.) Garnish with purslane. (Purslane is an exotic weed also known as “pigweed,” apparently. Who knew? More here.)

Notes: Cooking and Eating 

First, if you are grilling tomatoes, make sure they are not too ripe otherwise they’ll fall apart on the grill. They will cook in just a few minutes each side. Second, if you are using kale, which I thought would be fun, be cautious: it can char and burn to a crisp quickly so you need to watch it carefully and rotate. Also – and I learned this the hard way – you may want to remove the inner fibrous stalk before putting it on the sandwich. This was surprising to me and I speculate that just how fibrous the stalks are varies by season and variety of kale, as I’ve made a number of kale salads in my time and never had the “Whoops, I just lost a tooth” or “Pardon me while I surreptitiously spit this inedible non-starch polysaccharide (fiber) into a napkin while at dinner with guests” situation. In other words, these stalks were ridiculously tough. (The first scenario did not happen, by the way; the second did.) When I next make this sandwich, I’ll remove the stalks and chop the kale prior. Third, I garnished the sandwich with purslane (that four leaf clover looking stuff in the photo) simply because it was at the market; it’s not something I regularly see, hence eat. Microgreens would work perfectly well and arguably better, as they are milder. Finally, make it your own by omitting one or both of the cheeses to decrease the calorie content, if that’s a concern. I went back and forth about whether to include the second cheese (mozzarella), as chèvre is perfect on its own, but I wanted the “melty, cheesy” factor from the mild mozzarella and the zing of goat cheese. I found it perfect, but do what you will.

And yes, while glorious in presentation, this sandwich isn’t easy to eat. But it’s well worth the extra napkins. There were people at our table that ate the sandwich like you’d expect (male people, who generally have larger mouths and take larger bites). I approached mine as an open sandwich as there was no way my mouth would fit around it. I saved the top piece to eat separately, as it was basically just grilled bread with pesto and goat cheese – yum! – and superb on its own.

In fact, it now occurs that you could deconstruct the whole thing and serve a grilled vegetable salad topped with a bit of goat cheese and purslane and serve with a side of grilled bread with pesto, which would be an equally delicious dinner and, had I thought of it at the time, I would’ve take another photo.

Ah, well. Next time.

And there will be a next time for this amazing summer supper.

P.K. NewbyDr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my cooking videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading!

A Summer Sandwich Starring Tomatoes

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I can not tell you how amazing this sandwich is. Make it now.

Here’s a short post for an easy recipe for lunch or perhaps to accompany a big salad for supper. After gawking at the unbelievably gorgeous heart-of-the-summer tomatoes at the market today, I threw this sandwich together immediately upon returning home in my dire need to eat one as soon as possible. I must say that I was pretty impressed with how wonderfully it all came together.

That’s my humble way of saying that it was totally awesome.

Begin with a rustic whole wheat bread or another whole grain bread that you like and cut a nice size slice. In order to ensure that it’s actually whole grain, look at the ingredient list and make sure it uses the word “whole.” In other words, if is just says “wheat flour,” it’s not whole grain. It needs to say “whole wheat flour.” Sure, you can use a lovely non-whole grain bread: I get it, I love a good baguette or ciabatta, too, which is sometimes called for. (See, for example, my Mediterranean grilled sandwich with pesto and two cheeses.) But whole grain brings with it far more nutrition and lots of great flavors, so it’s the bread I most commonly consume for both taste and health reasons. (And, er, you should, too.) It’s also the perfect bread for this sandwich.

Whip up a quick garlic aioli. I took a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise and added one crushed clove of garlic, a teaspoon or so of capers, a drizzle of olive oil, a little squeeze of lemon juice, and a grind of black pepper. (It is always worth it to use freshly ground pepper because it contains volatile compounds that break down shortly after it’s crushed. You will not get this intense pepper flavor if you use pre-ground black pepper.) Let the aioli sit for a few minutes, as it needs the time for the ingredients to meld. If you don’t feel like waiting it’s fine but trust me even 5 minutes makes a difference here – you’ll get a much better taste.

Cut a few thick slices of tomato, whatever kind you like. If you’ve never had an heirloom yellow tomato, like the one I used, do try one. SO SWEET. Speaking of super-sweet summer tomatoes, sun-gold cherry tomatoes take the cake, which you can find at the farmers’ market or some supermarkets if you’re lucky (see photo at the bottom of this post). Like candy, really. Okay, perhaps that’s a stretch, but you will not believe how scrumptious these little babies are. I pop them into my mouth like other people eat M&M’s. I’m not kidding.

Assemble the sandwich. Cut the bread in half (if you like) and spread with some aioli, then layer on a few arugula or spinach leaves and top with the tomato. Lightly toasting the bread also works really well, for a variation, and the warmth of the toast really brings out the savory flavors of the aioli. To complete the sandwich, I garnished each with a few rainbow microgreens, which I happened to have on hand since they are currently in season at the farmers’ market. If you’ve never had them, microgreens are a fun mix of, well, really tiny greens. They are very pretty and flavorful. Give the sandwich a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a grind of pepper, and take a big bite.

A perfect summer lunch, starring tomatoes.

P.K. NewbyDr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading!