White Tablecloths and Dirty Dishes: Favorite Sandwich

Here it is, one of our favorite sandwiches. We love this sandwich in the summertime as well as in the wintertime as the ingredients are readily available throughout the seasons. Traditionally this is a pressed sandwich, but it tastes great eaten right away or left to meld and marinate. Also it can be eaten hot or cold. Matt loves this sandwich heated up in a George Foreman grill. I like it either way. Here are some pictures and the recipe. This is a sandwich adapted from Moby's book Teany.

Favorite Sandwich

1/2 -1 cup olives of choice (I used kalamata and garlic stuffed green olives)

2 tbls to 1/8 cup olive oil (depending on how much is needed for blending. If the olives are oil packed, you will probably need less oil)

1-2 garlic cloves or more depending on your taste (I omitted the garlic as I had garlic stuffed olives)

Blend these ingredients together to form a chunky paste or tapenade.

Take a French baguette and slice into sandwich sizes and in half. Spread the olive tapenade on one side, then top with thinly sliced onion, and sun-dried tomatoes (either oil packed or dry, if using dry tomatoes, soak them in a cup of water for 5 - 10 minutes to soften). Sprinkle on some salt and pepper to taste.

Slice up the roasted red pepper into strips and place on top of the tomatoes.

Top that with some fresh spinach and pour on a bit of balsamic vinegar if desired.

Top with the other half of the bread. You can either spread on some more tapenade on this half or spread a little olive oil over it. I love olives so I always opt for more olive spread. Now is the time to either eat the sandwich or press it. You can do this by wrapping the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and leaving in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight. The thick crustiness of the bread discourages the sandwich from getting to soggy when left this long. Since I generally do not have plastic wrap in the house, I've set the sandwiches on a plate and rigged up a press by topping them with an upside down plate and placing heavy books on top, and letting that sit for a couple hours so the flavors can meld more.