PESTO AND SERRANO HAM SANDWICH
I struggled a bit with naming this post. There are so many elements in this sandwich that makes it so amazingly delicious. I think I can say that one of my favorite foods in the world is the sandwich (or hamburger) which is technically a sandwich as well if you think about it. If you think about it, there are just too many options to create the perfect sandwich. Thousands of breads, proteins, cheeses, vegetables and sauces that combine together to make the best. From there, it depends on what you have at home or what you like to combine. I don’t have a preference with ingredients most of the time. All kinds of breads, all kinds of ingredients inside. Let’s talk about this pesto and serrano ham sandwich.
First, I’ll leave a couple of other recipes you might like or need.
Parts of this super sandwich:
Let’s start talking about bread. For this sandwich we use ciabatta. This bread is an Italian bread without much shape. Find a small one that you can use whole for the sandwich. Next, the pesto. You can buy pesto in a jar in the supermarket. So far, all the ones I’ve tried that came in a jar have been delicious. Still, keeping it fresh is the best option. I’ll be honest, it really will take you less than 5 minutes to make fresh pesto. Worth it. With those first two elements you have the base of this sandwich. You are going to use a combination of salami and serrano ham and a combination of provolone cheese and mozzarella. The last details of this super pesto and serrano ham sandwich are the vegetables. You are going to use the amount of fresh arugula you want, and some roasted bell pepper slices.
What do you think of this combination? Amazing right? I loved it. We had this sandwich at my house for lunch and it fell short because of how delicious it was. We wanted more!
Tips to make this pesto and serrano ham sandwich perfect:
The roasted bell pepper: We want the bell pepper to be cooked, soft and without skin. To do so at home, what you are going to do is put the whole pepper directly on the fire. Without cutting, without papers, nothing. You are going to turn the stove on at full speed and put the pepper directly on the fire. It is going to turn black. You can turn it around so that all the sides is get like this. What this does, is burn only that skin that we want to remove. Once all the pepper is done, you are going to remove it from the fire. For me, the easiest way to remove that burned skin is to run the pepper through water. There, little by little and carefully you are going to take out everything that was black and only the part of the pepper that we want for this sandwich remains.
The bread: I recommend you toast the bread a little. What I did was melt a little butter in a pan and add the slices of bread there on top of that butter. So the bread will toast a little but with that added flavor of butter that is so delicious.
The cheese: Before adding the fresh arugula and closing the pesto and serrano ham sandwich, I recommend putting that half with the meats and cheeses for a little while in the oven. That little bit of heat will melt the cheeses a little bit and create a difference in temperatures and textures in each bite. Delicious.
Equipment:
Bread knife: To cut the ciabatta.
kitchen clamp: To move the pepper over the fire easily.
Regular knife: For the rest of the ingredients.
Baking sheet: If you want to heat the sandwich in the oven.
Pan: To toast the bread with a bit of butter.
PESTO AND SERRANO HAM SANDWICH
Ingredients
- 2 Ciabattas
- 8 Slices of salami
- 4 Slices of serrano ham
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 4 Slices of mozzarella cheese
- 4 Slices of provolone cheese
- 4 Tbsp pesto
- Arugula
- 2 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Toast the bell pepper directly over fire until it turns completely black. Remove burnt skin and cut into slices.
- Add butter to a pan and let it melt completely over medium heat.
- add bread slices and toast for a couple of minutes.
- Make the sandwich, add pesto, then salami, serrano ham, pepper and both cheeses.
- Add arugula and cover
