Pressed Italian Sandwich + Pressed Mozzarella, Sundried Tomato and Pesto Sandwich

These sandwiches are fun to make, taste delicious and travel well for a picnic or tailgate party. They would also be nice to serve for a casual lunch by the pool with a fruit salad and chips. Even though two whole ciabattas make a lot of sandwiches, it's nice to have both a vegetarian and meat option and the leftovers taste great the next day!

Pressed Italian Sandwich

• 1 ciabatta loaf
• 1/2 cup black or green olive tapenade (I used pesto on the meat sandwich I made and next time I will use olive tapenade)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced Genoa salami
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced spicy Italian cold cuts, such as coppa or capocolla
• 8 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
• 6 leaves fresh basil, torn into bite-size pieces
• Freshly ground black pepper

 Cut ciabatta in half horizontally. Spread bottom half with tapenade. Drizzle cut side of top half with vinegar and oil. Arrange salami on top of tapenade, followed by the prosciutto, coppa, provolone,and basil. Sprinkle with pepper to taste and place top half of loaf on filling. 

Wrap sandwich thoroughly with plastic wrap or foil. Place a heavy cutting board or other flat object on top of sandwich and weight it down with a 2- to 4-lb. weight (such as a large pot or six-pack of soda). Let sit 30 minutes to 2 hours. Unwrap, cut into eighths, and serve.

Recipe inspiration from here

Pressed Mozzarella, Sundried Tomato and Pesto Sandwich 

• Pressed Mozzarella and Sundried Tomato Sandwich
• 1 ciabatta loaf 
• 1/2 cup pesto (homemade or store bought)
• 1/2 cup  oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, reserving 1 tablespoon oil
• Romaine lettuce leaves
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

Cut ciabatta in half horizontally. Spread bottom half with pesto. Drizzle cut side of top half oil from sundried tomatoes. Layer bottom half of bread with lettuce leaves, then slices of fresh mozzarella and sprinkle with sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and top with lettuce leaves and top half of bread.

Wrap sandwich thoroughly with plastic wrap or foil. Place a heavy cutting board or other flat object on top of sandwich and weight it down with a 2- to 4-lb. weight (such as a large pot or six-pack of soda). Let sit 30 minutes to 2 hours. Unwrap, cut into eighths, and serve.

Recipe inspiration from here

Wrapping sandwiches individually in parchment helps keep them together when transporting and serving!