Open Face Vegetable and Herb Cheese Melts

Once upon a time, there was a fantastic restaurant in my city that happened to be vegetarian. It was called “The No Bull Café”. Get it—no bull-no beef, no meat. Anyway, I wasn't vegetarian, but they had the most amazing veggie melt ever. Unfortunately, they are no longer around, but they got me hooked on sandwiches like this.

You won't believe how deeply satisfying this sandwich is. The juices from the veggies soak into the crusty bread and then you have all the seasonings and the creamy cheese to savor. 

Ingredients (serve 4 or 8, if you cut the melts in half):

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 small eggplant

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 medium onion, diced

10 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I like cremini)

1 small zucchini, cut into slices

2 tomatoes, diced

½ cup each red and yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 teaspoons of Montreal Steak seasoning (or your favorite seasoning blend)

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

2 demi French baguettes (each about 12 inches long), or 1 long baguette, cut into four equal pieces

2 (5.2 ounce) packages of garlic and herb cheese, like Boursin®

Extra virgin olive oil and fresh chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

Peel and cut the eggplant into ½ inch pieces. Place in a colander and sprinkle with the kosher salt. Let sit in the sink for 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes is up, run cold water over the eggplant to wash off the salt and the bitter juices that came out of the eggplant. Let drain and set aside. Some people skip this step and are very happy. Some people also leave the peel on the eggplant. You do you.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in all the veggies. Cook for about 10-12 minutes or until all the veggies are softened. Add the Montreal Steak seasoning and salt and pepper if using. Continue cooking several more minutes until there is little or no liquid left in the bottom of the skillet.

Cut both of the demi baguettes along the equator (side to side). Open the halves and place them on the baking sheet. Pull out a little of the soft center bread to make little canoes. Just be sure not to go all the way to the bottom. Just a little bread out will do.

Fill each piece of bread with the veggies. If you have trouble having them stand up, just place them tightly side to side with the bottom pieces on the outsides or roll a piece of aluminum foil into a long rope and wrap that around the sides.

Top with ¼ of the cheese. Place in the oven on the top rack until the cheese melts, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and chives if you wish. 

Note: you may have a little of the vegetable mixture left-I had about 1/3 cup. If you do, save that in the fridge and add to eggs, put it on your Dagwood, put it on a grilled cheese, whatever.