We’ve all been there: you’re at a restaurant with friends or family and the only thing on the menu you can eat is some boring veggie sandwich. Raw veggies, no dressing and very little flavor. Such a bummer. But don’t let that ruin all veggie sandwiches for you! These suckers here are anything but boring. A good sandwich isn’t just about the fillings, but also about the dressings. These particular roasted vegetable sandwiches are all about the aioli. Avocado basil roasted garlic aioli, that is. SO GOOD! Truth be told, I really just came up with the sandwiches as a vehicle for the aioli, which I’ve been eating by the spoonful all week. Let’s talk about how this sandwich is made!
Roast the Garlic
Knowing how to roast some garlic is obviously important to making aioli that has roasted garlic as one of the main ingredients. Start with a couple of nice-sized garlic bulbs. Yes, we’re using whole garlic bulbs. I always get a reader or two who thinks I’m nuts for using a whole bulb (or in this case, two) in a recipe. Sounds crazy, but it works with roasted garlic, because roasting mellows the flavor so much. Grab a nice sharp knife and carefully cut the tops off of your garlic bulbs. You should be able to see the tops of all those little garlic cloves in there. Next, place each of your garlic bulbs on a sheet of foil (or on the base of a garlic-roaster, if you’re anti-foil) and drizzle them with olive oil. Loosely close up the foil and roast until the cloves are soft and browned.
Roast the Veggies
While you’ve got the oven on, get started on roasting your veggies. They cook up a bit quicker than the garlic, so you can start prepping them after the garlic is in. Chop the veggies and arrange them on a baking sheet. Rub them with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pop them into the oven. Let them cook until they’re tender and starting to brown.
Make the Aioli
Once your garlic is out of the oven and has had some time to cool, you can make your aioli. Place some avocado, lemon juice, and salt into a food processor bowl. Now grab one of your roasted garlic bulbs and squeeze it to extract the roasted garlic. It’ll be super soft, and maybe even mushy — that’s good! Place the roasted garlic into the food processor bowl and blend away.
Add your basil and thin the mixture with some non-dairy milk. Use as much milk as you like — less will give you a thicker, mayo-like aioli, while more will give you something you can drizzle over your sandwiches.
Assemble the Veggie Sandwiches
Slather the inside of some rolls or baguette sections (optionally toasted) with aioli, and stuff them with the roasted veggies.
These sandwiches are best eaten right away while the veggies are hot and the aioli is fresh.
Feel free to switch things up by using different veggies. Cauliflower, eggplant, and zucchini would all be delicious! Can these sandwiches be made gluten-free? Yup! Just use your favorite gluten-free rolls. How long with the aioli keep once it’s made? That really depends on how fresh your avocados are — the fresher, the better! I used just-ripe ones for these sandwiches and the aioli stayed green in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 days. It might have kept longer, but it all got eaten by then. For an extra hearty vegan sandwich, add some vegan cheese or plant-based protein. Mozzarella shreds would be an excellent topper. I’ve also made these with some sliced up Field Roast Italian sausage mixed in with the veggies, and they were excellent! How can I reduce the fat/calories in this recipe? Most of the fat come from the aioli, so using less of that will lower both the fat and calories. You can also use less olive oil (cut it by no more than half) to lower the fat and calories, or a smaller roll to reduce the calories.
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