Vegetarian Gourmet Sandwich: Marinated Apples, Aged Cheddar Cheese & Arugula on Gluten Free Hawaiian Bread

Elevate your sandwich game with a vegetarian recipe featured in this month's holiday issue of Food & Wine Magazine. It makes a perfect entree or snack alternative to the heavier dishes of the season. 

The marinade for the apples is a mixture of maple & honey apple cider vinegar, olive oil, whole-grain mustard, shallots and fresh garlic. Tangy arugula rounds out the complexity of flavors. Everything is layered on buttered Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Hawaiian Bread. Caution: May become addictive!

My Paleo Marin Rating: 5 Persimmons (for uniqueness and ease of preparation)

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, preferably Vermont Village Maple & Honey Apple Cider Vinegar (Note: if using plain apple cider vinegar, add 1-2 tablespoons of honey to the marinade)

1/4 cup olive oil

Sandwich Ingredients

4 teaspoons whole-grain mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 small shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1-2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tart green apple, such as Granny Smith, cored and thinly sliced crosswise (unpeeled)

1 tart-sweet apple, such as Honeycrisp, cored and thinly sliced crosswise (unpeeled)

12 slices of Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Hawaiian Bread, or any Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free bread)

Apples in Marinade

Salted butter for bread, at room temperature (optional)

1 1/2 cups packed baby arugula

Directions:

 1. Whisk together maple & honey vinegar, olive oil, mustard, pepper and salt in a medium saucepan (Note: add honey if not in vinegar). Bring to a simmer over low heat to blend all the ingredients. Add the shallots and garlic and stir. 

2. Place the apples in a large baking dish and pour the warm marinade mixture over the apples. Toss and let sit for 45 minutes, turning over once or twice. Drain the apples and discard the marinade. 

3. Butter one slice of bread, add a layer of apples, cheese and arugula. Place another slice of butter bread face down on top. Serve immediately.

Makes about 6 sandwiches.

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Recipe adapted from Food & Wine here.

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.