Vegetarian Eggplant Stack Open-face, with Tahini Cream Salad

Posted byLori Posted onJune 7, 2011 Comments18

It’s June. Lovely June in California.

One would think that being that it is June, the middle of the year, in sunny California, it would be… sunny.

Not so much.

It’s been raining, cold, cloudy, and more cold lately.

I’m needing my warm summer sun and hot air to bask in. I’m needing the clouds to leave, needing them to be replaced by blue skies. And I’m really needing some warm-weather foods.

I’m also not getting enough vitamin E. As in Eggplant.

And Easy.

But being that it’s cold outside, I’m taking a stand against winter. I’m fighting for summer. And I’m going against Mother Nature with anything I can to spell sunshine.

Today, sunshine is spelled, Eggplant Stack Open-face Sandwich with Tahini Cream Sauce. It’s also spelled hearty, delicious, nutritious, and yum.

Vegetarian Eggplant Stack Open-face, with Tahini Cream Salad

  • 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
  • 3-4 tbsp balsamic vinegar, +1 tbsp for finished sandwich
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, or cooking spray
  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 English cucumber, diced, about 1/2 cup
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (about 15 tomatoes)
  • 1/2 sweet white onion, diced
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 heaping tbsp tahini
  • 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste
  • 4 slices of gluten free bread, toasted (I used Udi’s)

EGGPLANT:

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Place each eggplant round onto a baking sheet or Pyrex baking dish. Brush balsamic vinegar onto each eggplant slice, repeat with olive oil or cooking spray. If desired, coat both sides of the eggplant.

Bake for 30 minutes or until soft, flipping eggplant rounds once.

TAHINI CREAM SAUCE + SALAD:

In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and seasonings.

OPEN-FACE:

When eggplant is soft, or cooked to your liking, top each piece of toast with 2 slices of eggplant (or more… like I did…) and 2-3 spoonfuls of tahini cream sauce on top. Drizzle with more balsamic vinegar and pepper. Then enjoy.

Makes 4 sandwiches with leftover Tahini Cream Salad

I’m pretty confident this recipe could be altered in an unheard amount of ways. I’m thinking hummus dressing, squash and eggplant, barbeque sauce. But I’m kinda crazy like that. 😉

If you’re in the mood for summer eats, an easy prep meal, and something tasty, you’ve just found it all in one open-faced sandwich.

Not to mention, health-wise, it comes out with an A+.

What do you crave when it’s summer and warm?

Are you craving summer?

Although it’s not quite 95 degrees outside, I’m giving up, or fighting back, however you want to view it. Warm eats, here I come!
Follow and like:
fb-share-icon
Tweet
Pin Share
Category

18 People reacted on this

  1. You never cease to amaze me. These look terrific! I’ve been craving cool refreshing fruits and veggies – especially smoothies!!

  2. a) this looks AMAZING.
    b ) it was FINALLY sunny today
    c) that means we can HIKE!
    d) yay :)!

  3. yes!!!!!!! im so craving summer. This June gloom junk is bananas. Im not likin it at all. I want hot gorgeous sunny weather. Ugh. Not this cold rainy stuff. Man I could complain forever about it. Ha! but on the flip side that tahini cream made my day=) mmMMMMM….

  4. Oh am I ever craving summer! Where is it???

    Marvelous and unique creation my dear.

  5. it has been HOT here, I cannot believe I used to live in FL, haha

    this looks amazing!!

    now that it is hot, I am craving fruit like crazy

  6. Yes I’m craving summer! We’ve had maybe three nice days so far. But I’ve been eating watermelon for breakfast, spells summer to me!

  7. Oh wow that looks delightful! I’m finding it hard to believe my parents’ stories about how cold and gross it is in NorCal right now 🙁 It’s too hot here, and from what I’ve known about CA weather my entire life, this year seems very unusual.

  8. oh, this looks good! i crave summer fruits this time of year: watermelon, strawberries, & peaches, oh my! 🙂
    and yes, i’m craving summer, too. at least the sun came out in central ca today! 🙂

  9. You had me at tahini. I want to make this so bad but I literally have none of the ingredients except tahini. Bah humbug. I feel like this recipe is so so me….

    When its summer I crave more smoothies and ‘bowls’ and wayyy less oatmeal. Makes sense.

  10. omg, that looks SO good. We’re getting a bunch of rain and cold weather here (in Calgary, Canada) I know that means nothing to you, because California is supposed to be sunny… but, you’re not alone, friend 🙂

  11. I crave water, and lots of it! This is sucha classic Lori recipe, and I have everything to make it. By the way, there is officially a “Lori’s recipes” tab in my bookmarks folder. 😀

  12. Wow, Lori…this looks amazing!! Seriously. AS for the weather…yeah we hit 103 yesterday breaking all kinds of records. I heard on the news this morning that this is the hottest spring ever on record. It’s killing me. 103 in June…I am terrified (read: TERRIFIED) of August.

  13. This looks SO GOOD! I bet it’d be good with tzatski (I am definitely spelling that wrong) too!

  14. Doesnt this weather seriously blow? Its been bringing me down over here!
    I bet this would taste amazing grilled! I love grilled eggplant so much, and all the other flavors you have going on here are insane! So creative as always 🙂

  15. Tahini cream sauce sounds amazing! And looks amazing… is it too early for tahini cream sauce? Definitely going to try this!

  16. oh my gosh. i love it! i must make this asap.

    it is HOT in MN currently. i crave cottage cheese with cucumbers, tomatoes, and dill when the weather is warm. and ice cream too 🙂

  17. Sorry to hear about the nasty weather, Lori! That was my city a few weeks ago. Rain, rain, and more rain! Now the sun is finally showing and the temperatures are in the 80s. Finally, it feels like summer! Now I just need to finish school and hit the beach! 😉

Comments are closed.