Saturday 9 July 2022

Red Pesto And Eggplant Sandwich

This open-faced sandwich calls for regular (green) pesto, but I prefer a red version so I used red capsicum (peppers) instead.  Funny how only Australians call them capsicum (as far as I know).  I was watching UK food YouTuber Barry Lewis the other day and he was warning viewers not to touch their eyes after chopping them up.  Huh? thought I.  There's no capsaicin in them so no burny-burny.  Funny fella.

This recipe is from a book called The Artists' and Writers' Cookbook.  It's a collection of 76 stories with recipes, from (famous?) American kitchens.  Pardon my Aussie ignorance, but I'd only heard of ten of these people :-)  Perhaps that's why this book didn't really gel with me, but anyway, there are some 'interesting' recipes here.  Including this one by author Daniel Wallace (sorry, never heard of him).  


cheesy, crunchy and garlicky


He gives no quantities and very little instruction so I have done my best with it.  He made it for his wife-to-be, who told him months later that she had hated it!  Thankfully, Mr P. and myself chowed down on it very happily.  I assume he used a bought pesto but I decided to make my own, but you do you :)


Serves 2-4:

ingredients:

For the red pesto:


240g./8.5 oz roasted capsicum (from a jar)

20g./¾ oz/2 Tbs pine nuts

45g./1.5 oz cashews

1 tsp sea salt

a dozen grinds of black pepper

20g./6-7 Tbs fresh parsley

50g./1.8 oz parmesan, grated

1 Tbs vinegar

1 Tbs lemon juice

45 mL/3 (US) Tbs EV olive oil


Method:


Blitz all the pesto ingredients till you have a rough paste (mine was fairly liquidy), and set aside in a bowl or jug


Ingredients for the sandwich:


1 baguette or long bread roll (about 40 cm./16 inch length)

you will need: several Tablespoons of the pesto (Hi Mrs. Crocombe)

150g./5.5 oz grilled eggplant (I got mine from the deli)

1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

80g./3 oz cheddar cheese, grated and parmesan (2-3 Tbs), grated, to form a cheesy blanket over the eggplant

A few Tbs of chopped fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)


Method:


Slice your baguette in half lengthwise (horizontally)

Slather the two halves in as much pesto as you fancy - maybe 3-4 Tbs per slice?  Mr P. wanted lots on his half :-)

Cut the eggplant into large bite-sized pieces and place them across each baguette half

Scatter the garlic over the eggplant then Cover both slices with the vintage and parmesan cheeses

Place them on an alfoil-lined baking tray, wrap them loosely in the foil and bake at 180C/350F for about 15 minutes

Then open up the foil and bake for another 5 minutes or so till the cheeses are melted and golden

Sprinkle on the extra parsley, if using and serve with a salad



Notes:


If you're feeling energetic, grill or bake the eggplant slices yourself

Use vegan cheese if you wish, and to make it gluten-free, use a GF bread

I used Strong and Bitey Vintage Cheese 

There will be leftover pesto, so use it on anything you fancy

As a total aside to this, I recently discovered that our Aussie tablespoons which are technically 20 mL, are in fact quite often 15 mL as per US and UK recipes, since the actual spoons are not made here!



pesto ingredients gathered

pesto ready to blitz

slice that baguette!

and slather on the red pesto

eggplant goes on top of the pesto, awaiting garlic and cheese

on go the garlic and cheeses

golden and cheesy

ready to eat



Mr. Wallace's sparse ingredients list :-)

The method was equally sparse!  He says to halve the baguette, spread with pesto, place the eggplant on top, sprinkle on cheese (only cheddar) and garlic, and bake at 350F.  No times given, and no amounts.  And he doesn't even mention the eggplant in his ingredients!  His attention to detail ... :-)



© Sherry M.


33 comments:

  1. Those open sandwiches look fantastic, Sherry. Fresh homemade pesto is the best.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks angie. very true about the pesto. always fresher when made at home.

      Delete
  2. I'm not big on eggplant but the sauce sounds fantastic. And your food does look beautiful -- wonderful presentation!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Artists and Writers Cookbook is fun -- I reviewed it here:
    https://maefood.blogspot.com/2021/02/artists-and-writers.html

    I was amused by many of the recipes, but didn't try them. And I'm afraid Americans are as innocent of knowing the contributors as anyone else.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that's good Mae. I don't have to feel so ignorant then :)

      Delete
  4. This looks like a good sandwich. Didn't know that Australian tablespoons were different from UK (and US) ones -- fun fact. I haven't heard of Daniel Wallace either. :-) Anyway, thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks John. Yes ostensibly our Tbs are bigger than anyone else's :-)

      Delete
  5. Don't feel bad, I've never heard of David Wallace either. :) One of my favorite summer sandwiches is a grilled eggplant and roasted red bell pepper. After going through your recipe, you've taken that sandwich to a while new level. I love this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i hope you try this sandwich MJ. It was a tasty one.

      Delete
  6. I may have lived all my life Down Under but having been born in NE Europe open sandwiches still come naturally ! Shall definitely copy this . . . love eggplant and oft make pesto but haven't tried it with peppers nor used two kinds of nuts at a time. Thanks for having worked out some practical measurements too . . . bestest . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peppers? Mm naughty Eha. We say capsicums :) Any nut works in a pesto i find. Cheers!

      Delete
    2. *laughter* Have read and commented on too many States-side posts, I guess . . . shall watch it in the future . . . !!!

      Delete
    3. tee hee! Gotta protect our aussie words I reckon.

      Delete
  7. It is Judee from gluten-free A-Z Blog. My husband would devour that sandwich- it is everything he loves and on a baguette as well YUM! It is a perfect summer sandwich and your pesto sounds wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi judee. Thanks for your kind words and dropping by the blog.

      Delete
  8. The reason you don't know many of these authors is because they are artists and writers - famous? I've never heard of any of them. They are telling stories based around one of their recipes. High reviews from Vogue, Epicurious, Martha Stewart, etc. If nothing else it is supposed to be a good read :) I like pictures and apparently there aren't any of the food - I would not be eager to buy it for that reason. Never made red pepper pesto - I'm sure it's delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad I'm not the only one judi. I'm surprised the book got great reviews tho... That's right. no food pictures. I will be giving this book away shortly!

      Delete
  9. Wow, I’m finally able to comment on your blog! Interesting. I’m glad I tried again. I’ve never heard of him, either, but this does look good!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yay thanks so much for persevering mimi. bloody Blogger and their difficult processes!

      Delete
  10. What an interesting book, I need to get to a good bookshop soon, another thing I miss Brisbane for. All the things I love are on this sandwich. Haven't made an open sandwich for ages, yours looks delicious Sherry. Great recipe thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh yes i do love me a good bookshop! Thanks for your comments!

      Delete
  11. Una ricetta gustosissima, complimenti!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ooo this is definitely my kind of sandwich - I love the combination of red pesto and eggplant! You can also try pairing it with sun-dried tomato pesto, I you like it (Optionally, a slice of prosciutto along with the eggplant.)

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an odd comment about rubbing your eyes after using red peppers - that makes so sense! Either way, red pesto sounds fantastic, and I can see how it would make for an amazing sandwich spread. Well done, Sherry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. maybe i misheard him? :) Yes it did do its job well in this sandwich david.

      Delete
  14. we liked it! yep sundried tomato would work too (if you like that sort of thing - tomatoes - eek!)

    ReplyDelete
  15. You are such an amazing cook. I feel like I could pick up these photos and eat them.

    And I had to look up the book and see a little more about it. From Amazon: "Inspired by a book from 1961, The (original) Artists' & Writers' Cookbook included recipes from the likes of Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Marianne Moore, and Harper Lee. This new, vibrantly illustrated version includes stories and recipes from Anthony Doerr, Leanne Shapton, Joyce Carol Oates, John Currin and Rachel Feinstein, Ed Ruscha, Neil Gaiman, Edwidge Danticat, Aimee Bender, Gregory Crewdson, James Franco, Francesca Lia Block, Swoon, Nelson DeMille, Rick Moody and Laurel Nakadate, Nikki Giovanni, T.C. Boyle, Lev Grossman, Roz Chast, Heidi Julavits, Marina Abramović, Curtis Sittenfeld, Julia Alvarez, and many others." The authors (if not the artists) are very familiar to me. I always wish we Americans knew more about authors from other places in the world that just our little country. Sadly, we seem to think the world revolves around us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi Deb thanks for dropping by my post with such kind words. I always worry about my photos as i only have an iphone and no proper lighting:) I was just saying to hubby that there are soooo many books to read, and that's just in English. "Imagine all the books in Uzbekistan I haven't read!" says I.

      Delete
  16. I love your choice of the red pesto — I think it’s much better with the eggplant. We are in eggplant heaven these days, so I cannot wait to make this and take it on a picnic. (Of course, I am curious if I know the 10 chefs! I tend to avoid celebrity chefs…)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks david. yes I find basil can be a bit overpowering at times.

      Delete

I would love to hear from you. Please leave your comment and I will reply as soon as I can. If you have problems commenting, please try without your WordPress profile. You can try Anonymous (add your name in the text) or your Google account if you have one.