Meatless Monday: Yum Veggie Sandwiches, Open Face
By: Anneka Gerhardt
Published: August 9, 2010

It’s Monday night. You burst in the door from work, exhausted, irritated, and utterly unwilling to cook. Your sole desire is to flop on the couch and have someone fork-feed you a cheeseburger. But… what about Meatless Mondays?
This week’s recipe is not only as simple as they come but completely adaptable to whatever ingredients you have in your fridge. It takes ten minutes to prep, tops, and only five to cook.

Assemble your ingredients—seasonal, juicy sweet onions, ripe tomatoes, buttery avocado, crunchy alfalfa sprouts and toasted sesame seeds. Pop two sliced English muffins in the toaster and set the oven to broil. Dice the tomatoes. Dice the onions. Mash the avocados.

After placing the muffins face up and close together on a cookie sheet, thickly cover them with mashed avocado. Although the original recipe recommended the use of only one avocado, I’m kind of a fanatic. I used two. Double the avocado, double the fun.

Your next layer will consist of the alfalfa sprouts, followed by the chopped sweet onion. At this point, I decided to add the requisite ranch dressing—and let me tell you, this is the key to success. I covered each muffin with a tablespoon, and they may have been a little too gooey. I recommend around two teaspoons per muffin, but if ranch is your thing, hey. Go crazy. Salt and pepper to taste. I added some of my favorite hot sauce (Cholula), which was fabulous.

Cover the ranch-y, sprout-y, onion-y avocado-muffs with the diced tomatoes and sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds. Next time, I’d love to try any number of garnishes: pine nuts or sunflower seeds spring to mind. Add a small handful of sharp shredded cheddar to each muffin, pop under the broiler for a few minutes (it only took three and a half minutes for the cheese on mine to start bubbling). BAM. A crunchy, filling, kind-of-unbelievably-decadent vegetarian sandwich. Although… can you really call it a sandwich if it’s open face? Discuss.

--Anneka Gerhardt, Foodista staffer

Comments:
vt kitchen ninja

I make mini muffin pizzas using this same concept -- which, hilariously enough, my sister and I learned as part of our efforts to attain the cooking badge in Girl Scouts many, many years ago.
Magda @ Be Nutr...

Omg that thing looks just so ridiculously tasty and juicy that I wanna try it right now. Looks so cheesy and healthy.
Keri Dito

A rustic work of art! My kind of breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. A woman after my own heart. Fabulous.  What else can you say without the benefit of a bite?  But I can almost taste it because your photos do it so much justice. Keri
Kitten with a Whisk

I love this idea! Easy, yummy, fast.
The Gothic Gourmet

You had Me at avocado. I must must must share My grilled veggie sandwich with marinated fresh Mozzarella with you. To die for. I'm going to try this one this week if I am up and running that is.
I love your website. So well put together. If only I had those 'skilz' I think that is how the kids these days say it and spell it. ;)
As it were, keep on keeping on. Your site rocks!
Sincerely,
The Gothic Gourmet
Becca Jones

This is so Yummy! Thanks!
Furniture Desig...

The post is written in very a good manner and it entails many useful information for me. I am happy to find your distinguished way of writing the post. Now you make it easy for me to understand and implement the concept.