Veggie Toast

The night I moved from New York to Philadelphia, some friends showed up to see my new apartment and brought me a bag of vegetables from their garden. These veggies and a can of chickpeas from the pantry got me through several dinners and gave me a project to keep me busy when moving - stressfully - stalled.

It is amazing how little one has to do with garden fresh veggies to make the most delicious meals. Take this veggie toast, for example.

1/2 roasted red pepper (my friends had brought several beautiful, glossy wildcat peppers, but you could use a roasted red pepper from a jar)

1/3 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/3 small red onion, peeled and sliced into thin crescents

1/3 c halved cherry tomatoes

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 slice of your favorite bread, toasted

Generous pinch of cumin

Salt to taste

Olive oil as needed

Preserved lemon paste or mayo for serving

If roasting your pepper, preheat the oven to 375.

Place the washed pepper on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with some olive oil, and fold the aluminum foil up to form a tight package. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, depending on the size of your pepper.

Set aside to cool slightly before peeling. Small peppers may not need to be peeled.

While the pepper is roasting, prepare the rest of the vegetables.

Splash some olive oil in a saucepan and add the red onion, the cumin, and a little salt. Cook over low heat, stirring from time to time, until the onions are soft and starting to caramelize. You may have to add a splash of water or wine to deglaze the pan to keep the onions from burning.

Once the onions are soft and gooey, add the tomatoes and the chickpeas. Cook for an additional five minutes, until the chickpeas are cooked though and the tomato halves are melting into the chickpea - onion mixture. You may need to add another splash of liquid to the pan to keep the mixture from sticking, though the juice from the tomatoes may be enough. Set aside to cool slightly. If using preserved lemon paste, stir it into the mixture now.

Toast your bread. If not using preserved lemon paste, spread the toast with some mayonnaise. Fan out the avocado on top of the bread. Top this with the red pepper half (reserve the other half to use in tuna salad or in Coddled Summer Squash).

Spoon over the chickpea-onion mixture and dig in. Different textures, temperatures, garden peppers and tomatoes, tangy preserved lemon, chalky chickpeas, creamy avocado....this is a wonderful summer dinner.