Stuffed Sandwich

If you missed yesterday's post about our Saturday morning mountain bike ride, you need to check it out.  (This post if a follow up to yesterday's blog post.)  We had the most excellent picnic following our 2 1/2 hour bike ride in the park. We were all starving and this stuffed sandwich REALLY hit the spot. 

I found this recipe for a stuffed summer sandwich on the Williams Sonoma website and it just screamed summer picnic to me.  I put the entire sandwich together the night before our bike trip and Saturday morning before we left, I took it out and sliced it and packed it into the cooler.  I also packed some cherries and our dark chocolate oatmeal bars and we were off for a great adventure in the park. 

Stuffed Summer Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 jar roasted red bell peppers
• 1 round loaf Italian bread
• 1 can pitted black olives, drained
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. thinly sliced baked ham or prosciutto
• 1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves or 4 to 6 leaves
    of red-leaf lettuce

Directions:

Place the bread on a cutting board and, using the tip of a serrated knife, cut a large circle in the top about 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch from the edge. Pull out the circle of crust; remove all of the bread attached to it to make a lid. Pull out all of the bread from the interior of the loaf, leaving a shell 1/2 inch thick. Set the bread shell and lid aside. (Reserve the pulled-out bread for another use.)

In a blender or food processor, combine the olives, garlic and olive oil and process until fairly smooth. Using a rubber spatula, spread the olive paste around the inside of the bread shell and on the underside of the bread lid. (Alternatively, mince the olives and garlic, place in a small bowl and stir in the olive oil to make a coarse paste. Spread the olive paste on the bottom of the bread shell.)

Line the bread shell with half of the ham.

Top with a layer of provolone cheese slices.  (I added this to the recipe because my family loves cheese.)

Top with the roasted peppers.  I only put red pepper on half of our sandwich because not everyone in my family is a pepper lover. 

Add half of the tomato slices (which I left out) and a few basil leaves.

Top with another layer of ham.

Replace the bread lid and press down lightly to compact the layers.

I wrapped my sandwich in plastic wrap and stored it in the refrigerator overnight. 

Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 6.

Picnics in the park - that is what summer is all about.

The next time you are heading out for a picnic - give this stuffed sandwich a try.  You can change it up and make it your own by adding your family's favorites.

Ciao!
 

Stuffed Summer Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 jar roasted red bell peppers
• 1 round loaf Italian bread
• 1 can pitted black olives, drained
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. thinly sliced baked ham or prosciutto
• 1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves or 4 to 6 leaves
    of red-leaf lettuce

Directions:

Place the bread on a cutting board and, using the tip of a serrated knife, cut a large circle in the top about 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch from the edge. Pull out the circle of crust; remove all of the bread attached to it to make a lid. Pull out all of the bread from the interior of the loaf, leaving a shell 1/2 inch thick. Set the bread shell and lid aside. (Reserve the pulled-out bread for another use.)

In a blender or food processor, combine the olives, garlic and olive oil and process until fairly smooth. Using a rubber spatula, spread the olive paste around the inside of the bread shell and on the underside of the bread lid. (Alternatively, mince the olives and garlic, place in a small bowl and stir in the olive oil to make a coarse paste. Spread the olive paste on the bottom of the bread shell.) Line the bread shell with half of the ham. Top with the roasted peppers, then half of the tomato slices and a few basil leaves. Finish by adding the remaining ham. Replace the bread lid and press down lightly to compact the layers. Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 6.