Since it’s #EatMoreVeggies Month here at Cook Smarts, we’re going to share a recipe today to help you do just that. So far in this series, we showed you fun ways to enjoy veggies, whether it’s in the form of ‘zoodles’ or fritters.

So for this week’s recipe, we’re keeping it super simple, and anyone can make this at home. It may seem like a very obvious recipe – veggie sandwich – but it’s all in how you execute it.

This sandwich is filled with tender-but-still-crunchy veggies and a super flavorful and easy sundried tomato pesto that takes it all up a notch. Fresh mozzarella lends some gooeyness to the entire meal, and really, who can say no to oozy, melty cheese?!

“As a huge carnivore I was reluctant to make this AND eat it! This may be my first vegetarian meal without a meat substitute, EVER. And it was so flavorful! I was pleasantly surprised.”

-Helen

And it’s not just a sandwich. It’s a panini! A panini is a classic Italian grilled sandwich made with bread (other than sliced bread), stuffed with sandwich ingredients, and then warmed and pressed. (Hence, the warm, oozy cheese.)

But just because we’re encouraging everyone to eat more veggies, that doesn’t mean that you have to go meatless everyday. The beauty of this recipe is that you can add whatever you want – customize with your favorite veggies (we use zucchini, bell pepper, and eggplant in ours) and add meat, if you’d like.

“Paninis were so flavorful. Next time I make this, I will add some chicken. Just a personal preference – we are a family of meat-lovers!”

-Stacey

It’s even easier if you have leftovers, such as extra seared pork chops with balsamic red onions that you made last night, or rotisserie chicken. Add to your veggie panini for a good balance of veggies and protein, and for a quick and healthy weeknight meal.

For More Smarts:

You don’t need a panini press. Just place your sandwiches between two sheet pans, and weigh the top sheet pan down with something heavy to get a similar effect.

Instead of using a grill pan, try roasting your veggies for a Roasted Veggie Panini. Heat oven to 425 F (or 218 C) degrees. Toss peppers, zucchini, and eggplant (or whatever veggies you are using) with some cooking oil on a sheet pan. Roast for 25 minutes, shaking once midway through, or until desired doneness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper fresh out of the oven.

Leftover pesto can be frozen, so we recommend doubling the pesto recipe. You’ll be using the same amount of time to make it, but now you have some pesto on hand for fast and easy future meals.

Prepping Smarts:

If you don’t have a food processor, no worries. It’s just as easy to make a hand-chopped pesto. Here’s how:



Equipment Smarts:

A food processor will help you make this pesto in a flash.

Grill your veggies indoors with the help of a grill pan.

This recipe uses two sheet pans to get the panini effect, but they’re super useful, inexpensive, and handy in the kitchen, so they’re worth the investment.

For more kitchen and equipment and tool smarts, visit our ‘Essential Kitchen Cookware and Tools’

See this recipe in our meal plan here