If anyone inspires me as a cook, it's definitely my mom. Growing up, I really can't remember a night that we didn't get to sit down to a hot, delicious meal. She was even able to turn leftovers into a lovely dinner. After all her years of cooking, she has perfected many of her dishes to be some of the best food I've ever tasted. To this day I still haven't have salmon or ribs that rival hers. Having moved away from her makes me long for her food as well as admire her even more for the person and cook that she is!
We were able to go home over Christmas, which was basically a two week GORGE fest of some of the best food imaginable. But there were points in the week that our bodies were screaming for mercy and begging for something light and healthy. To meet those needs my mom made these delicious roasted veggie sandwiches with her homemade hummus that were to DIE for. Her hummus had just the right amount of bite and sharpness, paired with the sweetness of the roasted veggies and the softness of the bread, oh, a veggie lover's dream come true. I ended up requesting the same sandwich three days in a row and I've been craving them ever since!
There is no wrong way to make these, and I did make mine a little differently then my mom's. She used kaiser rolls and added thick slices of provolone, and while I would LOVE to do that, I'm trying to keep things as light as possible. So I used these awesome Sandwich Thins that you can find at Costco. They are like thin hamburger buns, they are delicious, with just the right density and are only one point each! If you are trying to cut carbs or calories out of your diet, I highly suggest these, I use them for breakfast sandwiches, fill them full of lunch meat, and have even used them for burgers, they're great.
For these sandwiches you can either buy or make your own hummus. There is a huge variety of wonderful hummus at the grocery store right now, but I'm still a fan of my own. Hummus is really easy to make and there are a million different ways to make mine. Traditionally the base of hummus is chickpeas (garbanzo beans), but you could also use things like edamame, white beans, artichoke hearts, or roasted red peppers. My mom adds things like red onion and tahini to hers, which gives it such a rich tangy flavor. Mine is really simple, and very garlicky, here is the recipe.
Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1-2 teaspoons cumin
1-2 teaspoons garlic salt
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Combine beans, garlic, cumin, garlic salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Blend until grainy. While blending, add olive oil in a steady stream until desired consistency. I love to serve these with pita chips.
I just recently tried this using water instead of olive oil to cut out some fat, didn't work! It took out all of the elasticity and I really missed the pungent flavor of the olive oil, it's worth the extra calories, trust me.
For your veggies, just chop up your favorite veggies in bite sized pieces, all roughly the same size so that they cook evenly. My favorites are asparagus, mushrooms (portabello or cremini), red pepper, zucchini, summer squash and onions. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper and toss on a cookie sheet. I roast them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until they are soft and browned.
Spread hummus on your roll or bread, pile on as many veggies as possible, add whatever cheese you like (provolone or Swiss are probably my most preferred) and enjoy! If you have a lot of veggies leftover, you can throw them back on your cookie sheet and roast them again another time, just not as long.
Hope you love these as much as I do!
