When I was visiting Sis in Portland last month we made copious amounts of hummus of varying types and flavors. Chickpea Hummus. Mung Bean Hummus. Chana dal Hummus. While I generally like to eat hummus with warm Middle-eastern flatbread or pita, my sister used our overabundance of hummus as a chance to make one of her favorite warm weather sandwiches, veggie and hummus.
While it’s supposed to be June gloom here in Southern California, the weather this week is less gloom, more warm and sunny and, therefore, the perfect weather to recreate a version of my sister’s favorite sandwich. Let’s just pause for a sec to talk about the fact that I have never, ever looked at a veggie sandwich and thought, that looks amazing!
Though I do enjoy many varieties of veggie burgers, a warm veggie burger just sounds more appealing than a cold veggie sandwich. I don’t know why. I like cold salads. In fact I like cold salads more so than warm salads so, by that logic, you would think that a cold veggie sandwich would sound way more appealing than a warm veggie burger, right? Even still, my skepticism was high. But since I’m willing to try just about anything once and I had all the fixins’ on hand to make a cold veggie sandwich, I thought I would give it a whirl.
I took my time assembling the sandwich and taking pictures with the lowest of low expectations for this sandwich. But when I bit into it, I was more than pleasantly surprised when I realized I really, really liked it. Loved it, even. And Sis is right. It’s the perfect warm weather sandwich (especially if you like vegetables). Sis likes to make her sandwiches on fresh bread but all I had to work with was some frozen stuff so I decided to toast the bread before assembling the sandwich. It actually worked well to create a sturdy surface for all the slippery ingredients I was piling on, but I would like to taste the sandwich on some fresh whole grain bread some time. Since I always have tons of hummus on hand, it shouldn’t be any big feat.
This sandwich is vegetarian, not vegan, because the mayo I used is made with egg but you can easily make a vegan sandwich by using vegan mayo or nixing mayo altogether. Customize this sandwich any way you like it. Add your favorite crunchy veggie. If you like cheese, add cheese. I mean I guess if you wanted to add a few slices of thinly shaved meat you could do that, too, but the intent of this sandwich is to enjoy all the flavors and the textures of this cooling warm weather sandwich as we ease ourselves into the summer months.
Bon appétit!
ingredients.
- whole grain bread, fresh or toasted (I used frozen Dave’s Killer Bread and toasted it)
- hummus, any flavor (I used a spicy golden hummus made with turmeric and Aleppo pepper)
- mayo, homemade if you have any, (use vegan mayo or omit for vegan)
- lettuce such as spinach leaves, arugula, torn romaine, etc.
- tomato, sliced thick
- cucumbers, sliced thick
- avocado, sliced
- any other favorite vegetables you have (julienned carrots, sliced onion, sliced red, yellow, green or orange peppers, sprouts etc.)
- sliced cheese or vegan cheese (optional — the sandwich stands alone without cheese!)
directions.
- On fresh or toasted bread, spread hummus on one side of one of the pieces of bread and mayo on one side of the other piece of bread.
- Top the piece of bread with mayo on one side with veggies with the heavier veggies piled at the bottom and the lighter veggies (lettuce and/or sprouts) on top.
- Cover with the piece of bread spread with hummus and cut in half. Serve immediately.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 