Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Sandwich
This Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Sandwich on focaccia bread is a delicious vegetarian option for lunch or a light dinner.
I have had a vision of making a sandwich with vegetables and halloumi on and off for a few months now. I first tried it several months ago, and it was fine, but not memorable in any way. I don’t even really remember what I put on it, but I know the vegetables were raw, and I wasn’t happy with my bread choice (I chose an olive loaf from the local Italian market).
I decided to try again this past week, this time with much better results. I chose the vegetables in the sandwich with intention, and I roasted them before adding them to the sandwich. I opted for focaccia, knowing that its spongy texture and flat shape would work well for a family-sized sandwich.
This version was much better, and Mr. Dreamboat and I loved it. The kids tolerated it, but loved the halloumi, as usual. We ate the sandwich for dinner, and while we ate most of it fresh, we saved some leftover pieces for lunch the next day, and it held up overnight just fine. I think this Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Sandwich would also make a great vegetarian packed lunch, picnic, or camping meal.
How to Make a Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Sandwich
If you plan to make focaccia from scratch, that will be your first step. I have a complete recipe to follow here; plan for it to take about 2½ hours. Alternatively, feel free to buy your favorite store-bought loaf.
The next step will be to make the seasoned oil to brush on the vegetables. Add the oil to a small microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Add a crushed garlic clove, the oregano, and red pepper flakes. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals until the garlic starts to brown, about 1-1½ minutes. Set this aside for now.
Next, move on to preparing the red bell pepper. Cut the top and bottom from the pepper and remove the stem. Cut the middle section in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and pith. Brush the bell pepper pieces lightly with olive oil and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil on high for 5-10 minutes until the bell pepper is soft and blackened in spots.
While still hot, transfer the bell pepper pieces to an airtight container or bowl wrapped tightly with plastic. Set the pepper aside for now.
While the pepper cools, start working on the other vegetables. Trim the ends from the zucchini and cut them into planks. Remove and discard the portabella stems and scrape the brown gills from the underside of the mushrooms. Cut the mushroom caps into strips. Lay the zucchini planks and mushroom slices on the foil-lined baking sheet.
Remove and discard the garlic clove from the oil mixture and drizzle the oil evenly over the zucchini and mushrooms. Season lightly with salt. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast the vegetables for 10-15 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
While the vegetables cook, go back to the bell pepper. It should be cool enough to handle by now, so go ahead and peel off the skin. It should come off easily, but if it doesn’t and some pieces don’t want to come off, don’t worry about it too much. Cut the bell pepper into strips.
When the vegetables are ready, it’s time to sear the halloumi. Cut it into ½-inch slices. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the cheese to the skillet, and cook until the cheese is well-browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip the cheese and brown the second side, about 3 more minutes.
To assemble the sandwich, cut the focaccia horizontally in half. Spread half of the avjar or pesto onto each cut side of the focaccia. Layer the roasted vegetables, then the halloumi evenly on the bottom half of the focaccia. If desired, top with a couple of handfuls of leafy greens, then place the top piece of focaccia on top. Cut the sandwich into 6 equal pieces. Serve immediately or wrap the sandwiches individually in foil for a packed lunch or picnic.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
If you know you’re going to be in a rush before serving this sandwich, it’s possible to do all of the vegetable prep in advance. This will involve roasting, peeling, and slicing the red pepper, and slicing and roasting the zucchini and mushrooms, then refrigerating both (this will be steps 1-6 in the recipe below).
When you’re ready to assemble the sandwich, take the vegetables out of the fridge and reheat them in the microwave for about a minute before adding them to the sandwich. Note that I don’t recommend searing the halloumi in advance as it’s best added to the sandwich fresh.
This sandwich also travels well for a packed lunch or picnic. In this case, simply wrap the individual sandwiches tightly in foil for transport. This sandwich is best served warm or at room temperature.
Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Sandwich Ingredients
- Olive oil – You will need olive oil for roasting the vegetables (in this case, it will be seasoned with garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes), and for searing the halloumi. You will also need a very small amount to brush on the red bell pepper before broiling it.
- Garlic – You will need a whole clove, which you’ll smash and heat in olive oil to season it.
- Dried oregano – You will need this to season the olive oil before adding it to the vegetables. Alternatively, you could use fresh minced oregano (use about ½ teaspoon).
- Red pepper flakes – You will be using these to season the roasted vegetables. Use more (½ teaspoon) for a spicier sandwich.
- Red bell pepper – You will be roasting this under the broiler. Alternatively, you can buy jarred roasted red peppers and skip a couple of steps in the recipe (see recipe notes for details). Jarred roasted red peppers are pretty widely available and can be found in either the canned vegetable section or pickle section of well-stocked grocery stores.
- Zucchini – Stick to smaller, tender zucchinis here as the larger ones will be too seedy and spongy. Alternatively, you can use other summer squash, cut into planks or slices.
- Portabella mushroom caps – Portabellas are large, savory mushrooms. They are pretty common and should be available in the produce department of well-stocked grocery stores. If you can’t find them (or don’t like the flavor of portabellas), replace them with sliced white or brown mushrooms.
- Kosher salt – Or you can use MSG-salt to enhance the savory flavors in the vegetables, especially the portabellas.
- Halloumi – This Mediterranean cheese doesn’t tend to melt, so it is often served cooked (grilled, fried, or seared). It tends to be very salty, so make sure not to oversalt the other components of your sandwich.
- Homemade or store-bought focaccia – Try to choose loaves that aren’t heavily seasoned or have a lot of other ingredients added to them, especially cheese. A very salty loaf of focaccia might lead to your sandwich being too salty. I used a homemade loaf seasoned with a little rosemary.
- Vegetable spread (ajvar) or pesto – Vegetable spread (ajvar) is a paste made from roasted bell peppers and eggplants, and comes in hot and mild versions. It’s fairly common where I live, but if you can’t find it, you can also use any kind of pesto you like.
- Leafy Greens – If you want, you can add a layer of greens like lettuce, arugula, or spinach to your sandwich.
Want more roasted vegetable recipes?
Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Sandwich Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one piece of the sandwich if you cut the whole focaccia sandwich into 6 pieces. If you cut your sandwich into larger (fewer) or smaller (more) pieces, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
The calculations use a traditional basil pesto for the spread, and do not include the optional leafy greens.
To make your sandwich gluten-free, replace the focaccia with gluten-free focaccia.
Roasted Vegetable and Seared Halloumi Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix together 2 Tablespoons olive oil, the smashed garlic clove, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, and ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir, and microwave for another 30 seconds. By now, the garlic should just be starting to brown. If not, microwave for one more 30-second interval. Remove the bowl from the microwave and set it aside for now.
- Prep the red bell pepper by cutting off the top and bottom. Cut the center portion of the pepper in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and pith (the white part inside). Carefully remove the stem from the top section. Brush all pieces lightly with olive oil and place them skin-side-up on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the top of the oven, about 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) from the top element, and broil until the peppers are soft and the skin starts becoming blackened in spots, about 10 minutes. Immediately transfer the hot pieces of bell pepper to an airtight container or a plastic-covered bowl. Let it sit while you prep the other vegetables. Turn the oven on to 450°F.
- Prep the zucchini by trimming off both ends. Cut each zucchini lengthwise into 3 long planks.
- Prep the portabella mushroom caps by pulling off and discarding the stems. Use a small spoon to scrape off most of the dark brown gills on the underside of the mushroom. Cut the mushroom cap into approximately ½-inch (1.25cm) thick slices.
- Lay the zucchini planks and portabella slices on the same baking sheet you used to broil the bell peppers. Remove and discard the crushed garlic from the olive oil mixture, and drizzle the oil over the zucchini and mushrooms. Sprinkle the vegetables with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast the vegetables for about 10-15 minutes, until the zucchini planks are browned on both sides, flipping the vegetables once halfway through the cooking time.
- Meanwhile, after the red bell peppers have been sitting for at least 10 minutes, uncover them and check to see if they are cool enough to handle. If they are, start peeling the skin off each piece. Note that it should come off pretty easily, but if it doesn't, don't worry if you can't get it all off. Cut the pepper into approximately ½-inch (1cm) slices.
- Cut the halloumi into roughly ¼ to ½-inch (about 1cm) thick slices. Heat 1 Tablespoons olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Place the cheese into the skillet and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip the cheese over and cook until browned on the second side, about 3 more minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Cut the focaccia in half horizontally. If desired, lightly toast the bread under the broiler (cut sides down so that the insides stay soft). Make sure to keep an eye on the bread so that it doesn't burn or get too toasty. Spread the cut sides with ¼ cup vegetable spread (ajvar) or pesto, dividing it evenly between the pieces of bread.
- Layer the vegetables on the bottom slice of bread, in whatever order you like, making sure that all of the vegetables are evenly distributed. Layer the halloumi slices on top of the vegetables and top with a layer of leafy greens, if desired. Place the top piece of bread on the top of the sandwich. Use a large bread knife to cut the sandwich into 6 rectangles. Serve immediately or wrap individual sandwiches in foil for bagged lunches or a picnic.
- Complete the vegetable prep steps through step 6 of the recipe. Once the vegetables are all prepped, put them into an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to make your sandwich. Reheat the vegetables for one minute in the microwave before assembling the sandwich. Note that the halloumi should not be seared ahead of time – it's best to sear it right before assembling the sandwich.
Nutrition
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Please Consider Leaving a Review!