grilled white wine caprese avocado sandwich
Caprese anything is my favorite summer comfort food.
You know, many a folk will probably tell you that caprese is overblown, overdone, and overshared. I am a deviant here. Often when I’m really down and uninspired I browse photos of caprese dishes because the colors just make me happy, and usually get the cogs rolling so I can refocus and find an optimistic tinge to my day.
Hencewise, I will never get sick of seeing or sharing caprese-themed foods. It’s such a simple combination that it’s rather easy to jazz the MTB trio up and reimagine the dish in a new way. You can make it melty or fresh, add a sauce, a dressing, change up the bread – and the finished product will have a slightly different effect than the next one, and the next one, and the next.
My thought with this dish was to amplify, yet not lose the integrity of the fresh ingredients. So, we’ve got tomatoes roasted in white wine and garlic, a light vinaigrette to drizzle, and toasty grilled slabs of crusty baguette to create a nice marriage of smoky and charred, creamy, and savory.
This sandwich reflects the simplicity of my eating lately, the need for down-home meals that aren’t overcomplex, and my constant money spending spree on fresh baguettes. Fuck, man, so many baguettes. Fresh tomatoes are my forte currently, they’re becoming incredibly snappy and sweet, and whether I share a recipe involving the little buds or no, you can bet they’re a friend on my countertop and in my daily salads.
No Whining Over This Wine
I guess calling this a grilled sandwich is a bit of a misnomer, since we’re only grilling the bread here, but it sounded good, okay? Get off my balls.
Speaking of balls, you’ll want to grab those little pearly reds to start. Toss them in some white wine (use what you like to drink, not some cheapo shit you’d drink out of a coffee mug out of desperation. Unless that’s what you like to drink, then by all means), olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
The tomatoes only roast for about 15 minutes or so, since we aren’t aiming for them to reduce too much and lose all their juices. The short bout in the oven brings out their natural sweetness while allowing the marinade to seep into the newly-formed cracks and give them a good extra boost of flavor. Of course, you are welcome to give them a longer time if you tend to like tomatoes more stewed.
Breadwinner
While the tomatoes roast, I whisk up a little vinaigrette to dress each sandwich. This isn’t really imperative, but since I’m apparently a dressing hoarder and like having five jars in my fridge at all times, I like it as a finishing touch.
This is very much a simple vinaigrette: olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, peach preserves or honey, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Shake or stir it up to emulsify. I use this mix all the time for J’s chicken roasts and my random daily salads, so it’s quite versatile to have around even if you don’t plan to use it for the sandwich.
Last little cooking thing is to grill the bread. I really recommend you take those few moments to heat up a grill or grill pan and just char up a few slabs of baguette. It is a wondrous touch to the dish. I grill bread a lot over the summer as a rule and baguette holds up particularly well to the grates.
I used two baguette loaves for the sandwiches. Slice each in half, then the halves in half lengthwise to get a top slice and a bottom slice. Brush each of the cut sides with a little olive oil (or, hell, use some of the dressing!) and grill for about 1-2 minutes depending on how hot your grill/pan is and how dark you want the bread.
If you’re really rebelling against grilling, you can broil the breads too. Keep an eye on them so they don’t become dust.
Capr-easy!
Now, put all that lovely filling shit on each sandwich. Almost eatin’ time!
Spread some avocado slices on the bottom of one slice of bread. I kept them intact but you can mash them if you wish. Arrange a few tomatoes and a few mozz balls overtop, then drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle some fresh basil leaves and, if you’re a pickled red onion ho like me, a few of those pretty pink tendrils.
A WORD OF WARNING: the tomatoes will burst all over your shit if you’re not careful. They’re big fat trolls like that and are out to get your white wash if you let them anywhere near a nice crisp button-up. I had one spit seeds probably somewhere onto my bookshelf and I have yet to find the carnage. Fucking rocket launchers. Just keep that in mind if you come across a tomato that hasn’t burst at all. It’s just waiting for its time and that will probably be when you least expect the bloodshed.
I’m a big fan of a leftover sandwich, so once everything cools I put a couple together, wrap in foil, and set in the fridge for a couple days. Keep the avocado out and don’t add the vinaigrette until serving time. A good crusty bread should hold up nicely to the roasted tomatoes, I did not find them to get soggy. If you’re really concerned, though, you can easily store everything separate and assemble at nomming time.
Enjoy these for a picnic, 4th of July, a fun lunch, whenever. A really lovely summertime staple that I hope you adore as I do.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Capr-eesh?
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grilled white wine caprese avocado sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
- 8 oz mini mozzarella balls (ciliegine)
- 1-2 avocados, sliced
- 2 baguettes, halved
- pickled onions and fresh basil, for serving
white balsamic vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp peach preserves (or honey)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a shallow baking dish, toss the tomatoes with the white wine, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 15-18 minutes until lightly burst.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a jar or bowl, shake or whisk the olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, peach jam or honey, garlic, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Slice each baguette in half, then slice each half in half (just look at the photos idk how to describe this shit). Brush the cut sides with olive oil or a bit of the vinaigrette we made. Heat a grill pan or grill over high heat and place the breads, cut side down, on the grates. Cook for 1-2 minutes until deeply charred.
- Arrange 4-6 avocado slices over the bread. You can mash them if you'd like. Top with a handful of roasted tomatoes and 3-4 mozzarella balls. Finish with pickled onions and fresh basil. Drizzle with a spoonful of dressing. Place the top slice of bread over the fillings and EAT.
