Pressed Italian Picnic Sandwich with Black Olive Tapenade

Yield:
10 servings

A 'make-ahead' picnic sandwich

Ingredients:

  1. 1 loaf rustic Italian bread, such as ciabetta
  2. 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  3. 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  4. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  5. Freshly ground pepper
  6. 1/4 cup prepared black-olive tapenade, or homemade (recipe below)
  7. 1 jar (7 oz) roasted red peppers, drained and blotted dry
  8. 1 pkg (5-6 oz) goat cheese
  9. 1 jar (8 oz) marinated artichokes, drained well
  10. 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
  11. 4 ounces hard salami, thinly sliced
  12. 1 1/4 cups fresh basil or cilantro, slightly chopped and loosely packed
  13. Black Olive Tapenade:
  14. 3/4 cup cured black olives, pitted
  15. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  16. 1/2 teaspoon capers, drained
  17. 1 anchovy fillet
  18. 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  19. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  20. 2 Tablespoons warm water
  21. 1 cup fresh Italian parsley, slightly chopped and loosely packed
Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the mustard and vinegar. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, warm water and pepper to taste. Set the vinaigrette aside.

Slice the loaf of bread lengthwise and make a hollow (or canal in the middle of the bread) by removing some of the inside bread; reserve for another use or discard. Spread the olive paste on the bottom crust and add the red pepper strips. Crumble goat cheese over peppers and add artichokes. Drizzle half of the vinaigrette over the sandwich.

Arrange prosciutto and salami over artichokes and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Scatter herbs over meats. Place the top crust on sandwich.

Wrap the sandwich tightly with plastic wrap. Place a large, heavy cast-iron skillet on top of sandwich for at least 1 hour to press. Slice sandwich into 10 portions and serve.

Black Olive Tapenade:
Blend olives, garlic, capers and anchovy in a food processor. Add the lemon juice and the 2 tablespoons olive oil and blend to a smooth paste.

This sandwich can be made a day ahead of time if you add the vinaigrette no more than 1 hour before you pack the sandwich.


TDS 3