Grilled Kale Chip and Roasted Tomato Sandwich with Tomato Mustard Vinaigrette

Day 5: Best Sandwich Ever

I'm the kind of person who could easily eat the entire pan of kale chips directly from the pan while they're still smoking hot. I usually regret not making two pans.... all for me.

Have you ever seen a better looking sammy? 

I can also eat my famous roasted tomatoes each and every day of the year-- breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don't care if it's Italian, Mexican, Asian, American, whatever.... I can squeeze in a roasted tomato.

I knew there had to be a  way to combine two of my besties into another favorite of mine: the grilled sandwich.

Friends, let me tell you, I have created the BOMB of the BEST sandwich EVER and I'm not EVEN exaggerating at ALL! If this were a contest, I'd win!

Straight from the freezer. Heat gently. SAVE the juice! 

Here's what you need:

Roasted tomatoes. You may not purchase these because the store bought type are much too oily. Basically, take the most perfect summer grown tomato, slice it about 1/2 inch thick, place on rimmed cookie sheet, drizzle (do not pour) olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake 300 for about 4 hours. I then freeze the entire cookie sheet and when frozen solid, I pop the tomatoes off and store in freezer bags for the future.

Kale chips. You may not purchase these because the store bought ones do not have the same qualities as homemade. Basically, take a bunch of kale, (enough leaves to cover a rimmed baking sheet, but the leaves may NOT overlap), wash and completely dry the leaves, remove the stems, massage one teaspoon of olive oil into leaves with your hands (do not use more that 1 t), liberally sprinkle nutritional yeast over the leaves and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. (no salt needed for these kale chips)

 Watch carefully. Flip them over if you must. Bake longer if they're still moist. Remove any smaller leaves that toast up earlier that the bigger leaves. Allow to cool.

Garlic toast. You must use a high quality bread like ciabatta. Butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano on one side. Grill buttery side down till golden. Flip over to lightly toast the other side.

Vinaigrette. Make a simple dressing from the juice of the roasted tomatoes (it's like tomato gold), lemon juice and/or red wine vinegar, Dijon, agave and olive oil. I think the basic rule of thumb is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. the Dijon and agave (or honey) are just added to help emulsify the dressing. Whisk.

Assemble the sandwich and devour. Have some napkins handy :)