VeganYumYum

Tomato Basil Sandwiches

August 3rd, 2007 Stumble it!

It’s really a shame about summer being so hot. All of this wonderful produce available–my refrigerator is bursting at the bolts with our CSA veggies–and no desire to cook! The thought of turning a gas burner on makes me wince, and I’d rather just pretend I don’t own an oven.

We’ve been getting particularly beautiful tomatoes from Red Fire Farm. I have a confession, though. I’m not a huge fan of raw tomatoes. I tend to eat around them. They get picked out of sandwiches halfway through and blatantly ignored in salads. I discovered that cooking them, even just slightly, makes a world of difference.

I LOVE slightly cooked tomatoes! They are the perfect sandwich filler.

And slightly cooked anything is good in this heat. This is a light, summery sandwich I made for lunch. It’s quick, easy, tasty, and takes advantage of the enormous amounts of summer tomatoes and basil we have at our disposal. I’ve spread the sourdough with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, which is really one of the best vegan cheese products out there.

Tomato Basil Sandwiches
Makes 1 Sammich

2-3 Roma Tomatoes, sliced lengthwise 1/4″ thick
1 Generous Pinch Salt
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1-2 Pinches Dried Italian Herbs
1 Splash Balsamic Vinegar

2 Slices Sourdough
Tofutti Cream Cheese
4-5 Basil Leaves
Black Pepper

Heat a skillet over medium heat with oil and herbs. Once hot, add tomatoes in one layer. Give the pan a little shake and flip the tomatoes about. Add salt. Once they are beginning to soften, but not falling apart, add a splash of balsamic vinegar while shaking the pan. Turn off heat. This process should only take a few minutes.

Spread your bread with tofutti, add chopped basil and pepper. Place tomatoes on top of that. Grill sandwich with a weight on top. If you’re not grilling, simply toast the bread first, then add tofutti and tomatoes. Enjoy! I’m going to go clean out my freezer so I can crawl inside it.

PS - I’m incredibly flattered to have been nominated in the 2007 VegNews Veggie Awards!! If you’re feeling so inclined, pop over and vote for me in the food blog category. Thanks!!

Entry Filed under: fake cheese, herbs, news, recipe

37 Comments Add your own

1. Hillary | August 3rd, 2007 at 1:40 pm

That Tofutti cream cheese is so interesting! And this is a great idea - kind of like a vegan-friendly bruschetta in sandwich form! You always have great ideas! Could you substitute heirloom tomatoes for Roma, or no?
2. Johanna3 | August 3rd, 2007 at 2:19 pm

great idea!, looks great.
3. Lolo | August 3rd, 2007 at 3:31 pm

Hillary, I think any kind of tomatoes would be wonderful!

Thanks, Johanna!
4. VeggieGirl | August 3rd, 2007 at 4:14 pm

sounds like a great sandwich to enjoy not just in the summer, but anytime!! fantastic combination of flavors here.

congrats on being nominated for a coveted Veggie Award!! good luck!!
5. daphne | August 3rd, 2007 at 5:57 pm

i reaaally want to try one of the slightly cooked tomato sandwiches. but i’m scared! raw tomatoes are my least favourite food in the world and even sundried tomatoes i can only handle in certain amounts. these do make me want to be brave… we’ll see !
6. Lori | August 3rd, 2007 at 6:59 pm

these look beautiful!
7. Vincent | August 4th, 2007 at 7:59 am

That looks like a great sandwich. Good luck with the VeggieAwards!
8. emilie | August 4th, 2007 at 11:00 am

This weather is killing me too. Boston is too hot. I’ve got a huge CSA backlog as well because I just can’t bear to make anything around me hotter than it already is. The sandwich looks great though–maybe just the inspiration I need to make something rather than going out for falafel…again.
9. Jes | August 4th, 2007 at 11:12 am

I’m actually making tomato sandwiches today! The addition of basil is such a great idea and I have a ton of it in my garden right now. Question: is sourdough vegan? It should have buttermilk in it… ??
10. Valerie Adams | August 4th, 2007 at 1:15 pm

I have been constantly wondering about toffutti cream cheese…I am a little reluctant to buy it but I want to try it. Is it any good and does it taste close to cream cheese? My stomach can’t handle normal dairy. Your site is beautiful by the way. Lovely pictures.
11. selina | August 4th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

That sandwich sounds SOOO wonderful! I am going to have to make it very soon.

Here’s a questions for you….I just bought a little pint of some Snap Peas, what would you make with them??

Oh, and I am really excited about your cookbook because your food always looks so good!
12. JudyMac | August 4th, 2007 at 4:35 pm

Lovely sandwich, it is really making my mouth water!
13. Hilary | August 4th, 2007 at 4:52 pm

ah, i want one right now. this looks delicious! i think i know what i’ll be having for lunch tomorrow. and gorgeous pictures as always.
14. sheree | August 4th, 2007 at 6:04 pm

This sandwich is a summer time winner! I love tomatoes anyway except dried. Seems like when they put the dried ones on a pizza they are hard when you get them. Maybe I would like them if they were cooked right.

Enjoy your delicious sandwich!
15. Kat | August 4th, 2007 at 8:12 pm

This sandwich looks fabulous. I’m going to go see if there are any quality tomcats in my fridge and possibly make it. I LOVE BETTER THAN CREAM CHEESE!!

PS: Congrats on the nomination! I just voted for you, obvs.
16. Stephanie | August 5th, 2007 at 9:33 pm

Have you tried grilling tomatoes? Those are good to, you do it outside, so the heat isn’t in the house (you could do it when you are doing some other veggies or tempeh) My husband love them grilled!
17. Poonam | August 6th, 2007 at 9:15 am

Hi Lolo, I loved your sandwich!
18. Patricia Scarpin | August 6th, 2007 at 10:36 am

I would gladly have this sandwich for lunch right now!
19. mansibshah | August 6th, 2007 at 6:24 pm

Wow, this looks good, kinda like the bruschetta…will surely try it! I dropped by on your site for the first time and would like to tell u that u have a nice blog here..good luck with your award nomination.

Pls visit http://funnfud.blogspot.com for other veggie recipes and much more!

-Mansi
http://funnfud.blogspot.com
20. Kathryn Elliott | August 7th, 2007 at 3:49 am

Oh my, what a fabulous looking sandwich. While I do like raw tomatoes, I also like a semi-dried / cooked one too. Thanks for the suggestions. We can’t get the Tofutti produce here in Australia, but yesterday I read a recipe for a marinated tofu and cheese spread, that would go perfectly.
21. suzanne | August 7th, 2007 at 11:04 am

This looks so yummy!
22. donna | August 7th, 2007 at 11:15 am

Awesome just maybe I can move past the Panino and try this one:-) Looks absolutely delish!
23. The Cooking Ninja | August 7th, 2007 at 1:10 pm

Yummy sandwich
24. bethie | August 13th, 2007 at 4:26 pm

drool, roasted tomatoes are freakin’ awesome. i made vegan “sloppy joes” last night and used muir glen fire roasted diced tomatoes as a short cut, and the flavor was so amazing, sweet and roasty and oh so good
25. bethie | August 14th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

ah i no longer have to drool, went to my local earthfare and picked up some delish organic roma tomatoes, organic basil, a small sour dough loaf, and tofutti. ah, dinner tonight will be divine. isn’t good food freakin’ awesome?
26. Joni | August 15th, 2007 at 6:57 pm

I totally voted for you. You have the best food blog EVER!!! And I cannot wait for your book to come out!
27. Christine | August 22nd, 2007 at 9:29 am

I’ve never been able to stand eating raw tomatoes. I just recently managed to eat a raw bruschetta and only b/c the bread was so good. Cooked tomatoes are fine, but ick on the raw! I’ve always marveled at people’s cream cheese and tomato sandwiches; it never occurred to me to cook the tomatoes a little first! I’ll have to try it.
28. kendra! | September 12th, 2007 at 10:34 am

Tomato sammiches? Delicious. And yours look so expert. Did you take a page out of Pioneer Woman’s playbook?

Hubs and I tried the Red Fire Farm CSA last year. I know what you mean about having your fill of veggies (read: we were in okra overwhelm!).
29. Rick. | September 13th, 2007 at 1:27 pm

While I am not vegan, this sandwich looks great. We crave the tomato basil soup from Corner Bakery (a chain in California…not sure if they’re everywhere). I shall certainly try this.

Linked over here from BoingBoing for the knitted cupcakes.
30. Paula from Only Cookware | September 15th, 2007 at 5:20 am

I love the tomato and basil combination. I will be trying this one. I would probably even add a dash of garlic when frying the tomato but then I love garlic with anything. Love your blog by the way.
31. Amit R. | September 17th, 2007 at 8:27 pm

Mmmmmm …..

-Amit
http://www.chai-yah.com
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33. Chelly | June 9th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

A moderation on this is to use a toasted greek style pita (toaster oven with a little olive oil under the broiler till browned) and then make an open faced sandwich on that
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36. Vegetable Waffle | July 25th, 2008 at 11:28 am

I made this last night along with your nearly raw tahini noodles, and it was amazing! I have a new favorite sandwich.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find sourdough bread in my neighborhood so I substituted a baguette, which was very, very good, but messy on the first try. For our second helpings (yes, it was that yummy), we didn’t cut the baguette all the way through, so the tomatoes didn’t slither out. Delicious!
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