Veggie Sandwiches

Food: Grilled Gruyere with braised leeks on multigrain bread
Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"Roadfood Sandwiches," by Jane and Michael Stern (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

Most vegetarians may feel that their sandwiches are limited to a handful of non-meat options: soy-meat, egg salad and good old peanut butter and jelly. The Sterns cover those bases in this mostly meat book. But they also include unusual veggie selections, breaking the meat monopoly between the slices.

- Evelyn Shih



Grilled Gruyère with braised leeks on multigrain bread

* 2 medium leeks
* ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
* ½ cup water
* Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
* 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
* Scant ½ teaspoon salt
* Pinch of freshly ground pepper
* Butter and Dijon mustard for spreading
* 8 slices of dense multigrain bread
* 10 ounces of Gruyère cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim off the root end of the leeks. Slice them lengthwise and remove any tough, dark green portions by cutting away from the root end on an angle and peeling them off. Clean the leeks thoroughly under running water to remove any dirt. Pat dry.

Heat a large skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, carefully place the leeks in the pan, cut side down. Cook just until they are golden brown on one side. Remove the leeks and arrange them cut side up in a casserole dish. Add the water, lemon juice, and remaining olive oil. Sprinkle the lemon zest, thyme, salt and pepper over the top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes. The liquid will reduce, and the leeks will caramelize. Let them cool.

Thoroughly butter one side of each slice of bread and arrange the slices butter side down. Divide the cheese evenly among the bread slices. Cut the braised leeks diagonally into 2-inch lengths and arrange them on four of the slices. On each of the other four, spread Dijon mustard over the cheese. Place the slices together to make each sandwich.

Place a batch of the sandwiches in a large skillet over low heat. Cook on both sides until brown and crispy, about 10 minutes per side. Keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining sandwiches. Cut in half and serve.

Servings: 4 sandwiches.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.