Grilled Zucchini Tomato & Mozzarella Sandwich

Last week I met up with Jeff’s cousin and her little girl at the Indianapolis City Market. I’d never been there before and had high hopes not only for the market itself, but for the farmer’s market outside. I’ve been rather unimpressed with the Carmel Farmer’s Market. It’s not terrible, but just okay. I go looking mostly for produce, and there is only one vendor at Carmel’s FM that offers a decent selection of produce. Consequently, there usually is a line about 15 people long just to view the fruits and veggies at this stand. Annoying.

This isn’t the case at the Indianapolis City Market’s Farmer’s Market. I was overwhelmed with produce stands. Not only were there tons of fruits and veggies on display, there were tons of Amish vendors. I have a slight thing for the Amish. I’ve been told that a handful of generations back, one side of my family was Pennsylvania Dutch. So maybe that explains my deep rooted trust in these fine people. I think I would buy a poop pie from a wholesome looking lady in a cotton dress and bonnet. They weren’t selling any of that last week, but they were selling dozens of quick breads, eggs, cakes, and jams. None of which I needed, therefore, none of which I bought. (Kinda throws a wrench in the poop pie theory.)

I did find quite an assortment of what I did need – the ingredients needed to recreate the delicious sandwich I just had for lunch inside the market at Cafe Olivia’s. A fine young man in front of me in line suggested I order their Grilled Zucchini, Tomato & Mozzarella sandwich. He didn’t need to twist my arm, and I’m so glad I asked him for advice because I was really close to ordering the Pulled Pork Sandwich (which surely would have been good too, but not unique). The sandwich was to die for, and the likeliness of my getting Jeff to the market to eat one too is nilch. So, I decided to buy up some tomatoes and zucchini and make one at home. Here’s how I did it.

Grilled Zucchini Tomato & Mozzarella Sandwich

1 French baguette
about 1/4 cup of olive oil
garlic powder
1 medium zucchini, sliced thinly lengthwise
1 ripe tomato sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella sliced like tomato
balsamic vinaigrette
dried Italian seasoning
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice baguette open lengthwise and place crust side down on a baking sheet. Brush the flesh of the bread with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder. Place in oven to toast 5-10 minutes, until golden.
2. Meanwhile, heat grill pan or panini press on a medium-high heat. Brush both sides of zucchini slices with olive oil and salt and pepper both sides. Place on grill pan and cook 4 minutes, or until grill marks form, then flip and cook another 4 minutes.
3. Line up zucchini slices and cover the bottom piece of the toasted baguette. Top with slices of fresh mozzarella and then with tomato slices.
4. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette to your liking. Season with Italian herb seasoning and salt and pepper. Top with other half of baguette and enjoy!