Grilled Vegetable Muffuletta (Challenging)

Whoa to this meal! What a work of art it is! The taste is delicious! I forgot to add the provolone cheese and even though I didn't have it on the sandwich, the sandwich was divine! I ate this sandwich for dinner nearly 4 hours ago and I am still full! I cannot believe I am so full on only veggies! I will make this one again and again in the future. A word of warning, this sandwich is for mature palettes, my 15 year old son did not care for it and I would have to say a 5 year old would not like it either. Rachael Ray sure comes up with some really different concoctions when it comes to her recipes and I love trying them.


http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/rachael-ray-30-minute-meals/grilled-vegetable-muffuletta

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick on an angle
• 1 red bell pepper, quartered lengthwise
• 1 large portobello mushroom cap
• 1 red onion, sliced 3/4 inch thick
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Salt and pepper
• 6 ounces baby spinach
• 1/3 cup pine nuts (a generous handful)
• 2/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (a couple generous handfuls)
• 1 cup store-bought giardiniera (pickled vegetable salad) (Rachael did not say drain the jar of giardiniera but you do need to drain it)
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives (drained as well)
• One 8- to 9-inch round loaf crusty bread (I used a sourdough crusty bread)
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Lightly brush the eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, portobello and red onion with 1/4 cup EVOO; season with salt and pepper. Cover and grill, turning once, until charred, about 6 minutes.(I actually grilled the veggies 6 minutes on each side on low on the bottom rack of my grill on a piece of foil)
2. Using a food processor, puree the spinach, pine nuts and parmigiano-reggiano; season with salt and pepper. With the machine on, drizzle in the remaining 1/4 cup EVOO. Transfer the pesto to a bowl; rinse the food processor.
3. Using the food processor, pulse the giardiniera and olives into a coarse relish.
4. Slice the top quarter off the bread and scoop out the insides. Spread half the pesto on the inside of the bread, layer with half of the grilled vegetables, then spoon the remaining pesto on top. Fill the bread with the remaining vegetables and top with the provolone. Spread the inside of the bread top with the vegetable relish and set into place. Press down firmly, then cut into wedges.
   
   

   

   The veggies!

   

   Eggplant sliced 1/2 thick

   
   

   

   Zucchini sliced 1/2 thick at an angle.

    

    

    

    

    

    

   
   

   

   Red bell pepper sliced length-wise into 4 wedges.

   
   

   

   Red onion sliced 3/4 inch thick.

   

   4 tbsp olive oil for brushing the veggies.

   

   Veggies getting ready to be grilled.

   

   While the veggies are grilling, prepare your pesto. I buy a chunk of parmigiano reggiano cheese and I shred it in my food processor.

   

   Shredding the parmigianno reggiano cheese.

   

   Shredded parmigiano reggiano.

   

   Shredded parmigiano reggiano.

   

   Baby spinach for pesto.

   

   1/3 cup pine nuts for pesto.

   

   1/4 cup olive oil for pesto.

   

   Baby spinach, pine nuts, salt & pepper, olive oil, and parmigiano reggiano cheese pureed into a pesto sauce. First you will process the baby spinach, pine nuts, and cheese along with the salt and pepper, then add a slow stream of olive oil while the food processor is on to create the sauce.

   
   

   

   The finished pesto sauce.

   

   The jar of giardiniera and the green olives make the relish. The pine nuts, olive oil and cheese were part of the pesto sauce.

   
   

   

   The relish made from giardiniera and green olives pulsed in the food processor.

   

   The yummy grilled veggies! Now time to move onto making the beautiful sandwich creation!

   

   I bought a sourdough for my crusty bread and make sure it is a round loaf (circle-sized) and cut off the top about 1/4 of the way down, the goal here is to create a bowl for holding all your veggies and toppings.

   

   Hollow out the bread to make a bowl, eat the inside or give it to the birds for bird crumbs. I highly suggest the latter.

   

   Spread half the pesto on the inside of the bread.

   

   Next, layer half the grilled veggies over the pesto. It is going to be a tight fit. I started with the largest veggie first, which was the eggplant, then the zucchini was fit in around the eggplant, then the red onions, and finally the red bell peppers.

   

   Spoon and spread the other remaining half of pesto on top of the veggies.

   

   Fill the bread up with the remaining veggies. This is the portobello mushroom cap that I saved for the top but before that I should have added some sliced provolone cheese beneath the mushroom cap, oh well, next time. You live and you learn.

   

   Top off with the relish.

   

   Put your top back on your loaf of crusty bread, getting hungry yet?

   

   Slice it in quarters. Looking yummy!

   

   My slice!

   

   Another view of the sandwich.