Roasted Veggie Panini – Vegan Recipe
Comfort food like panini’s really hit the spot when you need something quick and delicious.  This roasted veggie panini is from my latest book, The Lotus Kitchen, a collaboration with Gwen Kenneally. Plus, the Veggie Panini is the perfect example of yoga: all  the goodness of the practice is sandwiched between two physical anchoring points, the warm-up/sun salutation, and the final corpse pose later below.

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 red peppers, halved
• 2 green peppers, halved
• 2 yellow peppers, halved
• 1 eggplant, sliced in rounds
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2 large very ripe avocados
• 2 cups alfalfa sprouts
• 8 slices multigrain or pita bread
• 2 tablespoons olive oil for
• coating pan

Directions:

To roast the vegetables: Gently toss the garlic, onions, peppers and eggplant in olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper. Place vegetables in a roasting pan in a single layer. Roast for 45 minutes in a preheated oven.

To assemble: Spread avocado on each slice of bread. Place 2 slices of onion, 1 each of the halved peppers and 1 eggplant round on bread. Add 1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts. Close the sandwich and give it a good press.

To Panini: Have a large and slightly smaller skillet ready. Place the large skillet over medium heat. Coat the pan with a half-tablespoon of olive oil. Place the panini in the pan and press down with the bottom of the smaller pan. Once golden brown, flip the sandwich and place the bottom of the smaller pan over it. When it is golden brown, remove from pan, cut in half and serve. Continue with the other 3 sandwiches. Serves 4.

The Practice:

Panini and yoga it’s all the body and spiritual goodness sandwiched into two poses. Poses are always practiced starting with intentions and finished with achievements. The asana or pose begins with the willingness, and is finished with an insight. When beginning the pose there is always a sense of struggle until we find peace. Remember that yoga is a yoking or natural expression of bringing or connecting the many delectable pieces of goodness together into one.

Chair Pose (Utkatasana Fierce) Instruction:

Stand tall on your mat and spread the legs at hip-distance apart. Anchor your feet by spreading your toes. Sit your hips back as if you are sitting in a chair. Reach your arms long toward the sky and lengthen the torso diagonally while spreading the fingers or the hands. Look toward the hand and contemplate awareness of the body.