Prosciutto, Sopressata and Mozzarella Picnic Sandwich
Whether we are going to the beach or the park, picnics are the official meal of summer. While we’re having our morning coffee, we fill our picnic basket before heading out for the day. Take-along salads such as three-bean or potato find a place in the hamper, perhaps alongside a baggie of crunchy fresh vegetables and a container of dip. A batch of gazpacho or a bountiful fruit salad will add a welcome note to lunchtime by echoing in their flavors or textures the sweet sunshine that beckoned us to take our meal al fresco to begin with.
No picnic is complete without a big chewy picnic sandwich. Here we encounter the patchwork pleasures of the American palate, wrapped in waxed paper and served with extra napkins. A wine-country chicken salad is alive with crunchy nutmeats and those all-important grapes, while one dispensed from Grandma's Kitchen is soft with mayonnaise and flavorful with lemon. A midwestern picnicker might be chewing date-nut bread slathered with honeyed cream cheese, while a southerner might be eating pimento cheese on white. And peanut butter reigns supreme -- dipped onto everything from crackers to apple slices and drizzled with anything from honey to grape jelly.
Then there are stacks of cold cuts, from the humble bologna and cheese of countless lunch pails to that supreme accomplishment of the yankee lunch counter: the sub. There are as many ways to construct a submarine sandwich as there are ways to say it. A Billtown cosmo is a monster thick with cold cuts, cheese, oil, vinegar and hot peppers while the hoagie from further up New England or further down Philly loads on the lettuce and tomatoes. If you order your hoagie or cosmo heated, you're ordering a grinder. A Nawlins po-boy will evidence a jumble of fried shrimp or erstahs (or both), while in your Saint Louis poor boy you will find a mountain of shredded meat that points us back to the northeast and cheese steaks, but takes us out of the realm of subs.
No one can prove definitively why a submarine sandwich is called that but good stories about the name abound. One plausible story is that the sub is named for both the sailors for whose feeding it was invented, a caprice of which was baking the bread in an oblong -- i.e., submarine shaped -- loaf. However the sub got that name, it is a form of hero, the sandwich that was and is a mainstay of the local salumeria, in which layers of Italian cold cuts and cheeses are slapped onto a long roll and doused with oil and vinegar. As Italian grocers dispensed these masterpieces, additional species of heros surfaced, as both the sandwiches and those who consumed them began containing everything from broiled eggplant or zucchini al pulpo to red sauce and meatballs.
Here is a recipe for a great take-along picnic sandwich that respects the spirit of the hero without interpreting it literally. The salumi staples of sexy prosciutto and sturdy sopressata are paired with smoky mozzarella and accented with the classic flavor combination of peppers and onions. This sandwich is easy to assemble as you pack your pic-a-nick basket and easy to serve when you unpack it, making it as perfect a luncheon companion as the sunshine itself.
PROSCIUTTO AND MOZZARELLA PICNIC SANDWICH
You can pick up the ingredients for this sandwich during a trip to an Italian grocery store or at most supermarkets. Wherever you get your ingredients, ask for a taste of the prosciutto and the mozzarella before you buy them. The prosciutto should taste savory with a slightly salty edge and have a soft, not thready, texture. The mozzarella should taste smoky and slightly creamy without noticeable saltiness. This recipe uses a mandoline to shave the red onion paper-thin; for details about purchasing and using a mandoline, click here.
1 loaf crusty Italian bread, such as ciabatta, mufuletta or filone
1 pound Prosciutto di Parma, carved thin
½ pound sweet sopressata, carved thin
1 pound smoked mozzarella
1 12-15 ounce jar roasted red peppers
1 bunch fresh arugula
1 small red onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary blades
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1. Measure the balsamic vinegar and olive oil into a small jar with a well-fitting lid. Add the rosemary blades, oregano and red pepper flakes; swirl to combine.
2. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Press each half through a garlic press into the jar containing the seasoned vinegar and oil. Cap the jar tightly and set aside.
3. Place a colander in the sink. Open the jar of roasted peppers and decant the peppers into the colander. Give the colander a shake; leave in sink to drain.
4. Pull or cut the leaves of the arugula from the sandy roots; discard the roots. Rinse the leaves under cool running water until they no longer feel gritty; place on several layers of paper towels to dry.
5. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half.
6. Put on a cut-proof glove and position the mandoline over a large bowl. Follow the manufacturer's directions to position an onion half wide-side down across the surface of the mandoline. Position the mandoline's safety into place, and with your gloved hand use the safety to slide the onion back and forth across the mandoline's blade, so that the shaved slices of onion fall into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining onion half.
7. Open the package containing the smoked mozzarella. If it isn't sliced, use a serrated knife to slice the mozzarella into rounds 1/4" thick. Open the packages containing the prosciutto and the sopressata.
8. Place the bread on a clean cutting board devoted to baked goods. Use a serrated knife to cut the bread in half horizontally.
9. Distribute one half of the smoked mozzarella in a layer along the bottom half of the bread.
10. Distribute the onion in a layer on top of the mozzarella.
11. Distribute the sopressata in a layer on top of the onion.
12. Distribute the prosciutto in a layer on top of the sopressata.
13. Shake the roasted peppers in the colander. Distribute the peppers in a layer on top of the sopressata.
14. Pat the arugula dry as indicated. Distribute the arugula in a layer on top of the roasted peppers.
15. Distribute the remaining half of the mozzarella in a layer on top of the arugula.
16. Place the top half of the bread on the sandwich. Use the serrated knife to cut the sandwich into quarters. Wrap each quarter in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Keep cool until ready to serve.
17. When ready to serve, shake the jar containing the vinegar-oil mixture and pass around for each diner to dress their sandwich as they wish.
No picnic is complete without a big chewy picnic sandwich. Here we encounter the patchwork pleasures of the American palate, wrapped in waxed paper and served with extra napkins. A wine-country chicken salad is alive with crunchy nutmeats and those all-important grapes, while one dispensed from Grandma's Kitchen is soft with mayonnaise and flavorful with lemon. A midwestern picnicker might be chewing date-nut bread slathered with honeyed cream cheese, while a southerner might be eating pimento cheese on white. And peanut butter reigns supreme -- dipped onto everything from crackers to apple slices and drizzled with anything from honey to grape jelly.
Then there are stacks of cold cuts, from the humble bologna and cheese of countless lunch pails to that supreme accomplishment of the yankee lunch counter: the sub. There are as many ways to construct a submarine sandwich as there are ways to say it. A Billtown cosmo is a monster thick with cold cuts, cheese, oil, vinegar and hot peppers while the hoagie from further up New England or further down Philly loads on the lettuce and tomatoes. If you order your hoagie or cosmo heated, you're ordering a grinder. A Nawlins po-boy will evidence a jumble of fried shrimp or erstahs (or both), while in your Saint Louis poor boy you will find a mountain of shredded meat that points us back to the northeast and cheese steaks, but takes us out of the realm of subs.
No one can prove definitively why a submarine sandwich is called that but good stories about the name abound. One plausible story is that the sub is named for both the sailors for whose feeding it was invented, a caprice of which was baking the bread in an oblong -- i.e., submarine shaped -- loaf. However the sub got that name, it is a form of hero, the sandwich that was and is a mainstay of the local salumeria, in which layers of Italian cold cuts and cheeses are slapped onto a long roll and doused with oil and vinegar. As Italian grocers dispensed these masterpieces, additional species of heros surfaced, as both the sandwiches and those who consumed them began containing everything from broiled eggplant or zucchini al pulpo to red sauce and meatballs.
Here is a recipe for a great take-along picnic sandwich that respects the spirit of the hero without interpreting it literally. The salumi staples of sexy prosciutto and sturdy sopressata are paired with smoky mozzarella and accented with the classic flavor combination of peppers and onions. This sandwich is easy to assemble as you pack your pic-a-nick basket and easy to serve when you unpack it, making it as perfect a luncheon companion as the sunshine itself.
PROSCIUTTO AND MOZZARELLA PICNIC SANDWICH
You can pick up the ingredients for this sandwich during a trip to an Italian grocery store or at most supermarkets. Wherever you get your ingredients, ask for a taste of the prosciutto and the mozzarella before you buy them. The prosciutto should taste savory with a slightly salty edge and have a soft, not thready, texture. The mozzarella should taste smoky and slightly creamy without noticeable saltiness. This recipe uses a mandoline to shave the red onion paper-thin; for details about purchasing and using a mandoline, click here.
1 loaf crusty Italian bread, such as ciabatta, mufuletta or filone
1 pound Prosciutto di Parma, carved thin
½ pound sweet sopressata, carved thin
1 pound smoked mozzarella
1 12-15 ounce jar roasted red peppers
1 bunch fresh arugula
1 small red onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary blades
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1. Measure the balsamic vinegar and olive oil into a small jar with a well-fitting lid. Add the rosemary blades, oregano and red pepper flakes; swirl to combine.
2. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Press each half through a garlic press into the jar containing the seasoned vinegar and oil. Cap the jar tightly and set aside.
3. Place a colander in the sink. Open the jar of roasted peppers and decant the peppers into the colander. Give the colander a shake; leave in sink to drain.
4. Pull or cut the leaves of the arugula from the sandy roots; discard the roots. Rinse the leaves under cool running water until they no longer feel gritty; place on several layers of paper towels to dry.
5. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half.
6. Put on a cut-proof glove and position the mandoline over a large bowl. Follow the manufacturer's directions to position an onion half wide-side down across the surface of the mandoline. Position the mandoline's safety into place, and with your gloved hand use the safety to slide the onion back and forth across the mandoline's blade, so that the shaved slices of onion fall into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining onion half.
7. Open the package containing the smoked mozzarella. If it isn't sliced, use a serrated knife to slice the mozzarella into rounds 1/4" thick. Open the packages containing the prosciutto and the sopressata.
8. Place the bread on a clean cutting board devoted to baked goods. Use a serrated knife to cut the bread in half horizontally.
9. Distribute one half of the smoked mozzarella in a layer along the bottom half of the bread.
10. Distribute the onion in a layer on top of the mozzarella.
11. Distribute the sopressata in a layer on top of the onion.
12. Distribute the prosciutto in a layer on top of the sopressata.
13. Shake the roasted peppers in the colander. Distribute the peppers in a layer on top of the sopressata.
14. Pat the arugula dry as indicated. Distribute the arugula in a layer on top of the roasted peppers.
15. Distribute the remaining half of the mozzarella in a layer on top of the arugula.
16. Place the top half of the bread on the sandwich. Use the serrated knife to cut the sandwich into quarters. Wrap each quarter in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Keep cool until ready to serve.
17. When ready to serve, shake the jar containing the vinegar-oil mixture and pass around for each diner to dress their sandwich as they wish.
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