Grilled Veggie Sandwiches with Pesto

The fast food detox continues with this meal. My second day back in the kitchen after a week-long hiatus I decided to slice up a bunch of veggies and throw them on the grill. Knowing I would need to dress it up in order to entice the husband, I bought some hoagie rolls, spread them with a healthy layer of pesto and a sprinkling of freshly grated parm (not that powdered stuff in a can we all sprinkled on our spaghetti in the 80s!), and then stuffed the veggies in.

The husband's reaction? "Wow, these are really good! You can definitely add them to the rotation, maybe once a month." This coming from a guy who thinks eating nothing but Twinkies and Funions is vegetarian.

If you don't have a bbq, you can cook up the veggies on the stovetop in a grill pan, but they won't have the same smokey-sweet flavor. And please tell me you have a charcoal grill and not a propane bbq; let's not even go down that road again.

Feel free to change up the veggies to suit your preference.

Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga Original
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
2 yellow crook-neck squash, sliced lengthwise
2 red bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced into quarters
1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced into quarters
2 portabello mushrooms, rinsed of all dirt and stems removed (leave the gills intact)
pesto
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
olive oil

Directions
Prepare a charcoal grill.

Place all of the prepared veggies in a large bowl and toss with a little bit of olive oil.

Once the coals are hot (all white), lay the vegetables on the grill in a single layer. You might need to cook in two batches, depending on the size of your grill.

Grill for about 3 minutes and then flip the zucchini and yellow squash over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. The squash and zucchini should be slightly charred, and the vegetables should be much softer than when raw.

Once the skin of the bell peppers is charred, remove them from the grill.

Don't flip the portabello mushrooms; they are done when they are softer and slightly shriveled on the edges. Liquid may pool in the center of the mushroom during cooking.

Slice the mushrooms into 1/2" thick slices. Peel the charred skin off the bell peppers and discard.

Cut two hoagie rolls in half, lengthwise, and toast under the broiler. Spread with your desired amount of pesto (I used about a tablespoon or so per sandwich) and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Top the pesto and cheese with the grilled veggies, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!