Provençal Sandwiches With Roasted Garlic Paste Food

PROVENCE VEGGIE SANDWICH

Steps:

• Slice the eggplant and zucchini lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick strips and lightly sprinkle with salt. Let stand in a colander for about 1/4-hour until vegetables perspire. Rinse well and dry with a paper towel.
• Meanwhile, remove outer skin from head of garlic and cut tops of cloves off. Brush garlic lightly with olive oil and place in the center of the cooking grate. Cook 45 minutes or until garlic is soft and cooked through. Remove from grill, remove garlic pulp, and set aside. Combine garlic with the olives, tomato, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar and Herbes de Provence in the bowl of a food processor. Lightly pulse with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, until mixture has combined and formed a paste.
• Lightly brush or spray eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers with olive oil and place in center of the cooking grate. Grill, for 4 to 6 minutes, turning once during cooking. Vegetables should be cooked through, but not limp. Just before serving, split rolls and place on cooking grate to toast. Assemble sandwiches by layering lettuce, grilled vegetables and goat cheese (if desired). Spread garlic-olive paste on top bun and season vegetables with salt and pepper.

PASTA WITH ROASTED PROVENCAL VEGETABLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange eggplant and onion on large rimmed nonstick baking sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Stir zucchini and garlic into vegetables; continue to roast until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Stir crushed tomatoes into vegetables on baking sheet; roast until heated through, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Ladle 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid into small bowl; reserve. Drain pasta. Return pasta to same pot. Add roasted vegetable sauce and all herbs to pasta and toss to blend. Gradually add enough reserved pasta cooking liquid to moisten as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl and serve.

ROASTED GARLIC PASTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Remove any loose papery skins from the outside of the garlic heads; cut off the top 1/3 of the heads to open the cloves; set aside for another use; place the heads in a small baking dish, cut sides up; pour olive oil over them and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Cover the dish tightly and bake until 3/4 done, about 45 minutes; uncover and continue to bake another 15 minutes or until the cloves begin to pop out of their skins and brown; cool.
• Squeeze the cloves out of their skins into a bowl; add the oil from the baking dish and mix well, forming a paste.
• Store, refrigerated, up to one week.

PORTUGUESE GARLIC STEAK SANDWICHES (PREGO NO PAO)

Steps:

• Lay out steaks on a work surface and to be traditional,"nail" the garlic slices into the steak on both sides (about a clove per steak, more if you like).
• If this isn't your style, just push the garlic slices in with your finger.
• In about 1-1/2 tablespoons of butter, fry each steak for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once.
• Remove to a dish and reserve.
• To the skillet add the other 1-1/2 tablespoon butter and the sliced onion.
• Saute until onion is golden, then transfer onions to the same dish as the steaks and reserve.
• Pour the red wine into the skillet used to cook the steaks and onions; scrape up the browned bits and simmer over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by about half (this doesn't take too long--).
• Return the steaks and onions to this skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook another minute on both sides of steaks, until warmed through.
• Serve steaks and onions on warmed crusty sandwich rolls.

PROVENçAL SANDWICHES WITH ROASTED GARLIC PASTE

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE PASTE: Prepare and wrap the garlic in an aluminum foil packet, leaving a little room for the expansion of steam. Grill over Indirect Medium heat until the cloves are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the garlic from the grill and allow to cool. Squeeze the garlic pulp into a food processor. Add the remaining paste ingredients and process until smooth.Cut the eggplant crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Halve the bell peppers lengthwise. Stem, core and seed the peppers, then flatten them with the palm of your hand. Lightly brush or spray the eggplant and bell peppers with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill over Direct Medium heat until tender but not limp, turning once halfway through grilling time. The eggplant will take 8 to 10 minutes and the bell peppers will take 6 to 8 minutes.Just before serving, split the rolls and grill them, cut side down, over Direct Medium heat until toasted, about 30 seconds. Brush the inside of the rolls with the garlic paste and layer with the grilled vegetables, lettuce and goat cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature.From Weber's Big Book of Grilling. Copyright © 2001 Weber-Stephen Products Co. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.