Vegetarian BLT Sandwiches

I got inspired by this recipe: http://vegetablecow.wordpress.com/tag/bacon-salt/ Instead of eggplant, I decided to use zucchini.

I decided to make vegetarian BLT sandwiches for dinner tonight.

Vegetarian BLT Sandwiches

Vegetarian bacon:
1 zucchini
bacon salt, enough to cover. I ended up using about 1/3 to 1/2 of the jar.
olive oil (I did not have canola oil, or butter. Will need to go out and buy some.)

Sandwiches:
4 slices 9-grain wheat bread, toasted
1 avocado
4 slices tomatoes
2 romaine lettuce leaves
2 slices vegetarian bacon

Directions:
Cut off ends of zucchini. Slice zucchini lengthwise, or on the horizontal, with a mandolin slicer set to 1/8'. Place a few zucchini slices in a single layer in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with enough bacon salt so that the salt covers the zucchini slices. Add more zucchini slices in a single layer on top of the bottom layer, sprinkle with bacon salt. Repeat until all zucchini slices are layered and salted. Let rest for 30 minutes up to an hour.

Take a pan and pour in about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of canola oil in a cast iron pan. All I had was olive oil and a non-stick skillet. I poured in about 1/2 inch of olive oil. Let the oil come to a bubbly state. Pick up a zucchini slice and dab onto a piece of paper towel, so that no moisture hits the oil. The bacon salt will rub away some, but this is OK. Place the dried zucchini slice into the oil. Fry on one side until it gets crispy and golden brown. Turn over and fry the other side until it gets crispy and golden brown. I noticed that the zucchini slices will shrink down considerably. They will probably lose about 1/4 of their size when they're done.

Place the cooked slices on a plate covered with a paper towel. Let drain.

Toast 4 slices of bread of your choice (I used a 9-grain bread from a local bakery).

Put one 1/4 avocado on each slice of toast. Slice 4 slices of tomatoes. Place tomatoes on one side of each person's sandwich. Top the tomato slices with 2 fried zucchini slices. Finally top with the other avocado smeared slice. Voila!