Summer vegetable sandwiches
These sandwiches (or maybe I should say, this sandwich, because it's really one big sandwich that you cut up) is great for picnics. It's best made up the night before so the tastes mingle together and that, of course, means no hassle in the morning. Just throw it into your backpack and you're off. You could make it anytime of the year but in late summer, when the vegetables are at their best, it's bound to be tastier. As is the case with all my recipes, you don't need to stick rigidly to the list of ingredients given here and as it's a sandwich you're making there's probably not even a remote chance you'll muck it up. Be brave. Go with what's in the shops/fridge/garden and see if you can put your own personal stamp on the recipe.
Ingredients
1 round loaf of bread
1 large aubergine
1 red or yellow sweet pepper
1 large courgette
2 tomatoes
100g of hard cheese
A sprig of fresh basil and a spring onion or a few chives
Salt
Olive oil
Slice the aubergine and courgette and fry them separately in olive oil until they're soft and beginning to brown. Make sure the slices are sitting side-by-side in the pan and not piled on top of each other. Cut the pepper into thin strips and fry it too until it's soft. Slice the tomatoes and cheese and chop the herbs.
Slice the top third off the loaf and pull out most of the soft interior. Keep the top part - that's the lid. Pack the vegetables and cheese tightly into the loaf in layers, sprinkling a little salt and chopped herbs between them. Put the lid on the sandwich and wrap it in aluminium foil or plastic cling-film. Put it on a plate and put another plate on top with something heavy on it. Leave it like that in the fridge overnight. When you get to your picnic site you should be able to slice the sandwich up without too much mess and it will taste fantastic.