Chickpea, Beet and Veggie Sandwich

A few years ago, I made what I believed to be the best melt in existence. I layered beet pesto, shaved beets, shaved carrots and mozzarella cheese on top of two wheaty slices of bread and threw it on the griddle. 

At the time, putting shaved vegetables on a sandwich seemed revolutionary. It made the sandwich look tall and beautiful and taste crunchy and refreshing. Although I now know that putting shaved vegetables on a sandwich isn't uncommon, I still think it's an amazing idea. 

In this recipe, I incorporated my love for shaved vegetables with my love for simply roasted chickpeas. Every time I tested this sandwich, I ate about a handful of chickpeas before they made it into the sandwich. They're salty, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and just plain irresistible. The combination of chickpeas, beet spread and shaved veg makes this sandwich one for the record books. 

Let me know what you think of the recipe and don't forget to follow the sustainability tips below!

Time: 1 hour (but can easily be divided)

Makes: 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

for the beet spread

• 1 cup chopped red beets from about 1 medium beet

• 3 cloves garlic

• ½ cup roasted nut of choice

• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

• ½ cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

for two sandwiches

• about 3 tablespoons beet pesto

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 14.5-ounce can chickpeas

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 4 slices of wheat sandwich bread

• 1 cup microgreens

• A few handfuls of peeled vegetables (I peeled 1 large carrot, 1 raw beet and 1 large radish)

Steps

1. For the pesto, roast the chopped beets at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Once roasted, add all beet spread ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You can make the spread a few days in advance and store it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. 

2. Drain the chickpea liquid (consider saving it for another recipe) and rinse the chickpeas. Add the olive oil, chickpeas, lemon juice and salt to a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute, stirring only occasionally, until the chickpeas are beginning to brown. Remove from heat and set aside. Use a vegetable peeler to shred your vegetables and set those aside as well.

3. Toast the bread. Spread each piece of bread with about 2 teaspoons of beet pesto. Top two slices with the roasted chickpeas, vegetables and microgreen. Close the sandwiches and eat up!

Sustainability tips

• Beets, garlic, microgreens and vegetables: Make this sandwich when all the produce is in season (pst! that's spring!). Doing this will make it easier to find local and organic produce. Buying organically and locally cuts down on pesticide contamination and can help you get to know your local food producers.

• Nuts: Go for a nut that’s either fair trade or locally grown and harvested. Read all about this in my sustainable nuts post!