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A composed sandwich

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Times Staff Writer

Times Test Kitchen Director Donna Deane discovered this terrific vegetable sandwich at Zinc Cafe & Market in Laguna Beach. “I loved it for its freshness,” she says. “The flavor is very light, but it’s substantial.” Spread with aioli and tapenade, rustic bread is layered with vegetables, a sliced hard-boiled egg, arugula and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It’s perfect for lunch after a farmers market morning.*

Zinc Cafe mixed vegetable sandwich

Total time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: You can store tapenade and aioli in the refrigerator several days.

Tapenade

2 garlic cloves

1 3/4 cups Kalamata olives

2 1/2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Place the garlic in a food processor and pulse until minced. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until mixture reaches a consistency of minced olives. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

Aioli

2 garlic cloves

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup parsley leaves

3/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 egg

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Place the garlic in a food processor and pulse until minced. Add basil and pulse until finely chopped. Add parsley, salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and the egg, then pulse until combined.

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2. Slowly pour the olive oil through the feeding tube while the processor is running, allowing the mixture to combine and create an emulsion. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Sandwich and assembly

1 (1-pound) loaf La Brea Bakery Pain Rustique

1/2 cup tapenade

1/3 cup aioli

4 hard-cooked eggs

1 cup very thinly sliced red bell pepper

1 cup very thinly sliced green bell pepper

1 cup very thinly sliced celery (about 2 stalks)

1 cup very thinly sliced fennel bulb

1 cup arugula, washed and dried

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt

1. Slice the bread horizontally and lay the halves on a cutting board. Spread the tapenade on one half and the aioli on the other.

2. Thinly slice the hard-cooked eggs and make one layer of eggs on the bottom side of the bread; sprinkle lightly with salt. Layer the vegetables, salting to taste. End with arugula. Drizzle with oil and vinegar. Add the top half of the bread, press gently and cut into four sandwiches.

Each serving: 623 calories; 18 grams protein; 67 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 32 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 225 mg. cholesterol; 1,114 mg. sodium.

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