This sandwich is, quite simply, fall between bread. It’s stacked with roasted planks of butternut squash, a layer of thinly sliced apple, white cheddar cheese, rosemary, cranberries, arugula, and red cabbage that I quickly marinated in a little apple cider vinegar. It’s like one of those next-day leftover Thanksgiving sandwiches… that is, if you had a really colorful Thanksgiving.
I made these last Sunday when the leaves were falling, the sun was out, and the air was crisp. I don’t know if it’s that cozy fall chill in the air, but suddenly we’re eating more grains with our meals – hearty sandwiches like this with thick crusty bread, grain bowls with farro, and curries with quinoa.
Speaking of grains, this post is in partnership with Panera. Why? Because they’re on a mission to get people to eat more whole grains by releasing a six-episode video series called Food Interrupted. The first episode, Grains Interrupted, follows culinary pioneers to a wheat field in Tehachapi, California where they talk about the importance of incorporating whole grains into your diet and what exactly a “whole” grain is. Plus, it’s beautiful, give it a watch!
Of course, we eat a ton of whole grains around here but many Americans aren’t getting enough high-quality whole grains in their diet, so Panera is committed to spreading the word about how important good quality grains are. It can be confusing what is actually considered a whole grain – to help this, Panera is launching new labels on their signage to note the servings and percentage of whole grains in their products. I’m personally inspired by this, because I love when large companies get on board to nudge our food system in the right direction.
Back to the sandwich! You’ll want to find a large thick-necked butternut squash to be able to get these sandwich-sized planks. I saved the bottom part of my squash for soup because, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a butternut kick this week.
And while I didn’t set out to make this a make-ahead sandwich, these components all kept well for lunches for two days in a row. The butternut planks can be reheated the next day and the cabbage will keep in the fridge for about a week. The only thing I sliced up twice was the apple. Slather thick slabs of grainy bread with mustard and/or mayo, assemble, and enjoy!
