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Saturday, March 29, 2008

sopressata paninis with roasted red pepper tapenade

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I used to be very weirded out by any sandwich meat outside of turkey, but in the last couple of years have started to see that I've been missing a lot of deliciousness. Sopressata is one of those meats that I wish I had known about a long time ago. It's an italian cured pork sausage, made with black peppercorns, and just a slice or two can make a basic grilled cheese turn into an amazing experience. For this sandwich, I broil it with fresh mozzarella, some slices of black forest ham, and this red pepper and olive spread that is quickly made in the food processor.

Grocery list: sliced sourdough or italian bread, 2 slices of sopressata + 2 slices black forest ham (per sandwich), fresh ovaline mozzarella. For the tapenade: kalamata olives, fresh basil leaves, 2-3 roasted red peppers, olive oil, garlic, thyme, red wine vinegar.

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Start by making the tapenade. Make sure you pit the olives first, and then put about 15 of them in the processor. Follow with the red peppers, 2-3 garlic cloves, a handful of basil leaves, a sprig of thyme leaves (remove the stems), and pulse for a few seconds until the olives and peppers are coursely chopped.

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[Edit - forgot originally to include the rest of the directions for the tapenade here. After initially pulsing the olive mixture for a couple seconds, remove the lid and add a splash of red wine vinegar and stir to get the bigger chunks of olives down from the sides of the processor bowl. Return the lid; while pulsing the food processor, pour in about 1/4 cup of olive oil. You want the tapenade to have a thick consistency - spreadable, but not runny.

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Next, turn on the broiler. Toast both sides of the sliced bread. Then, smear both sides of bread with the tapenade, and on one side of each sandwich place a few slices of fresh mozzarella. On the other side, put 2 slices of ham and 2 slices of sopressata. Return to the broiler until the cheese is bubbling and the top of the salami starts to crisp.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What you do after you chop veggies and herbs? How much olive oil you use ? how much vinegar? Do you apply heat to the ingredients?

KT said...

Hey there - sorry for being so vague in the original post. Once you've added the olives and herbs to the food processor, you only need to pulse for a few seconds, so the pieces of olive are still a bit too big for finished tapenade. Then, add just a splash of the vinegar and stir the contents of the bowl with a spatula. Put the lid back on, and get ready with your olive oil right in the pour spout - turn the processor back on, and while it's running, pour in about 1/4 cup of olive oil. If you pulse the olives too much before adding the liquid, the food processor can basically over-chop your olives. You don't want it completely smooth like hummus, but still with some texture from the olives, you know? No heat at all is necessary. This makes a good dip for pita chips, as part of an antipasto plate, etc. Let me know if you have other questions!