Tomato, Onion and Goat Cheese Sandwich

*Post by Angela.

Weekend meals are glorious. During the week, my lunches (and Mark's) are a hodgepodge of leftovers, cheap cold-cut sandwiches, and a variety of soups. Dinner, when we eat at home, is whatever will take less than an hour and uses up the ingredients we already have at home in order to cut down on money and time spent in the long after-work lines at the grocery store.

 

But on the weekend? I can take all the time I want to select and make something delicious that we won't regret later, diet-wise. This weekend, after a lazy morning at the coffee shop, we decided to take a little extra time to craft a wonderful lunchtime meal - this tomato, onion and goat cheese sandwich (below) inspired by the Williams-Sonoma cookbook "Essentials of Healthful Cooking."

 

 

 

 

List of ingredients:

• 2 firm, ripe Roma tomatoes, halved length-wise and seeded
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced (easiest to use a mandoline)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• Kosher salt & black pepper
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 panini rolls
• 4 oz goat cheese, room temperature

First, I preheated the oven to 325 degrees. I rubbed 1/2 tbsp olive oil all over the tomatoes, placed them cut-side up in a glass baking dish, and sprinkled salt on them. I placed them in the oven for 1 hour, and made sure to turn the tomato halves over every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking.

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, I heated a pan over medium-low heat, then added the onions, the remaining 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and 2 tbsp of water, covered and cooked for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that onions didn't scorch (if you need to, add more water).

 

After 10 minutes, I uncovered the pan, threw in the butter (obviously optional), and cooked an additional 10 minutes until the onions had reached a nice golden brown. I added the thyme, 1/2 tsp salt and a dash of pepper, cooked for another minute, then stirred in the vinegar and removed the pan from the heat.

 

 

 

 

Once I was done with the onions, I cut the rolls in half, toasted them, then spread them with the goat cheese.

 

When the buzzer rang on the tomatoes, I took the baking dish out of the oven, covered it with foil and set it aside for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes were cooled. Then I peeled off the wrinkled skins.

 

I piled the now-cooled onions onto the waiting rolls and carefully stacked the tomatoes on top.

 

 

 

 

It's a little extra effort for lunch, but the result is a great sandwich for which we'd happily plop down a ten-spot in any restaurant. It's also pretty versatile - the sandwich could be made even healthier by swapping in multi-grain or whole wheat breads, or adding in a little greenery with some basil or arugula. I may not have the time to make a sandwich like this everyday, but when that leisurely Saturday or Sunday finally arrives, it's totally worth it.  

 

 

Comments

[KrisDub]

mmmmm...I'm going to try that. I think the addition of a portobello mushrom would be good too.

[Angela]

I bet that would be fantastic for some added meaty-ness without actual meat. Mark doesn't really go in for the mushrooms, though.

[Evan]

That pic has me drooling. Yum!!

[Angela]

:) Thanks, Evan. It was delicious AND photogenic.