Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Watching the Barefoot Contessa not so long ago and she made this very yummy sounding sandwich using Goat's Cheese.  I've played around with the original recipe a little bit to make it more of an 'express' sandwich and not too taxing to make on Monday morning's!  Or any morning for that matter, mornings aren't my best look!!!!

Goat's cheese is my most recent food discovery, A Room At The West End introduced it to me a few weekends ago when they served it in a bridie (I'd never heard of a bridie till I moved to Scotland, click here for more info!) for my starter.  Dressed with a hazelnut vinaigrette it went down very well indeed so I've been on the hunt for more Goat cheese recipes ever since.  Trust the Barefoot Contessa to come up trumps ;0)

Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches
1 jar ready roasted peppers
A glug of olive oil (I sometimes don't bother with this though)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Ciabatta, halved horizontally
125g goat's cheese, at room temperature
8-10 large basil leaves

Combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.  Remove the stem from each pepper and cut them in quarters, add to the oil and vinegar mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.

To assemble the sandwiches, spread the bottom half of the loaf with the goat cheese. Add a layer of peppers and then a layer of basil leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with the top half of the ciabatta and cut into individual servings.

Serves 4
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa (to see the original recipe click here)

These are great in a picnic hamper too - we'll be taking them with us the next time we visit the squirrels at the Botanics.  And if you want to bump up the veggie count add some baby spinach leaves along with the basil.  Yum!