Tomato and Avocado Ciabatta

This was probably one of my most successful experiments. I have been desperately trying to think of some kind of vegan version of the classic italian panino, which is one of my favorite Italian foods. For some it’s just a sandwich, but I’d easily put it on par with pasta and  pizza. I stumbled upon this mostly out of luck – I was initially planning on just a simple avocado and tomato sandwich. That would’ve tasted fine, but probably not all that Italian. Instead, since I had stuff lying around, I added some vegan mayonnaise, olives, basil, and black pepper. Those are the ingredients that, honestly, brought me back to Italy with the first bite. They create an incredible combination with the tomato and avocado of texture and taste which is exactly what I imagine when I think of an Italian panino. It also has the incredible advantage of taking literally 10 minutes to prepare. Oh – and did you notice? The ingredients are all in the colors of the Italian flag!

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 3 tomatos
• 1 ½ avocados
• 5-10 black olives
• 2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise (I prefer rice, but soya or any other kind will do just fine)
• an Italian ciabatta (kind of like a short baguette, but fatter)
• 2-5 leaves of basil
• ground black pepper
• salt

Preparation (10-15 minutes)

Preheat oven as hot as you can. Slice the tomatoes. Peel and slice the avocado. Slice the ciabatta through the middle. Stick the two pieces of ciabatta into the oven and leave it in there for about 3 minutes. Spread the mayonnaise on one side. Add the tomatoes, then the avocado on top of the side with mayonnaise. Add black pepper and salt to taste (make sure you add at least some black pepper, it’s important for the taste). Chop up the olives and basil and then add them on top of the avocados. Put the other half of the ciabatta on top of everything and your panino is ready!