The Pressed Italian Sandwich is a flavorfully packed Italian meat and cheese sandwich and so much more. It is all stacked together between a gorgeous loaf of Ciabatta and pressed together overnight with a brick or heavy skillet!
The Italian Pressed Sandwich is a crowd favorite and perfect for a picnic, tailgate or any game day gathering. This is adapted from a recipe in Good Things from Martha Stewart Living’s Binder & Project Card Collection. This was a wonderful binder filled with project cards that were sent to you every month, and you would add to your binder. There were so many great home ideas and recipes.
Our family took an annual trip to IKEA, the ultimate browsing superstore. The closest IKEA to our home was a 5-hour drive. We loved going to view displays for inspiration, shopping, and the show and tell after a full day of purchasing.
We would pack lots of snacks for our overnight stay and always made the pressed sandwich that we affectionately called the IKEA Brick. I still call it that to this day, unless I write the recipe out for the blog, no one would know what I was talking about if I called it that.
Like many food dishes, this brings back super fun memories of carpet picnics in the hotel rooms from our shopping excursions most featuring the Italian picnic sandwiches. No food came back, but always a full carload of all things IKEA.
Ingredients Needed for Pressed Sandwich
How to Make Italian Pressed Sandwich
To assemble the sandwich, you will need to prepare the roasted red peppers first. The best method for me is to roast in a 450-degree oven for 15 -20 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on the peppers because all oven temperatures can range. Once you see the skins are scorched, you can remove from the oven. When they are cool to the touch, you can peel the outer skin off and slice into 1 inch strips for the sandwich.
Prepare the dressing. Mix the dijon mustard and the balsamic vinegar together. To add the extra virgin olive oil, you must gradually pour in the mustard mixture while continually whisking to emulsify. Add water, salt and pepper and continue to whisk. You can just set it aside until you’re ready to use it.
Prepare the loaf of Ciabatta bread. Slice the loaf of bread lengthwise. Move slowly so it is as even as possible. This can be tricky with such a large loaf of bread. Next you need to remove the crumbs from the bread. This is removing most of the inner portion of the bread. This be reused for another purpose so set aside.
Time to assemble the pressed sandwich. With your loaf of bread open face you assemble everything on the bottom section.
How to Assemble the Italian Pressed Sandwich
- Spread Olive Tapenade evenly over bottom
- Add one layer spaced equally apart of the roasted red pepper so it covers the bottom of teh load
- Crumble your goat cheese over the top of the roasted red pepper, evenly arranged.
- Place the artichokes quarted hearts over the goat cheese.
- Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of dressing over all the ingredients.
- Add the meat in evenly placed layers on top of the artichokes and goat cheese. You can start with prosciutto and then the salami.
- Time to scatter all the fresh herbs over the meat.
- Drizzle the remaining dressing into the top of the sandwich loaf of bread and on top of the herbs.
- Place the top crust to complete the assembly of the sandwich.
Now for the pressing of the sandwich. Wrap the whole sandwich in parchment paper and time with twine. You can secure it to a flat surface like a cutting board to store in the refrigerator. Before placing in the fridge, you must put a heavy item on top of the covered sandwich. I use a brick or heavy cast iron skillet, and they both work great.
Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 4 hours. I have even prepared the night before and sliced the next day and the bread was still crusty and yummy.
Slice the sandwich in 2 inch slices and serve.
Tips and Notes
Pressed Italian Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 med Red Peppers
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 loaf Ciabatta, or Italian bread
- 1/2 cup Olive Tapenade See recipe for Olive Tapenade
- 8 ounces Goat Cheese
- 8 ounces marinated artichokes, water or oil
- 6 ounces Prosciutto, sliced thin
- 1/4 pound Peppered Salami, sliced thin
- 2 1/4 cups fresh herbs, loosely packed fresh basil, flat-leafed parsley, cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is pre-heating, slice the peppers in half and remove any seeds and veins. Place skin side up on a cooking sheet.Place in the oven once it is heated for about 15-20 minutes.Once you see the skins are scorched, you can remove them from the oven. When they are cool to the touch you can peel the outside skin off and discard and slice them into 1-inch strips to use on the sandwich.
- Prepare the dressing. Mix the Dijon mustard and the balsamic vinegar together. To add the extra virgin olive oil, you must gradually pour in the mustard mixture while continually whisking to emulsify. Add water, salt, and pepper, and continue to whisk. Taste and add additional seasons to your liking. Set aside.
- Prepare the loaf of Ciabatta bread. Slice the loaf of bread lengthwise. Move slowly so it is as even as possible. Remove the crumbs from the inside of the loaf of bread. This removes most of the inner portion of the bread. If you don't mind, this can be repurposed for another recipe, then please set it aside.
- Assemble the pressed sandwich, with your loaf of bread open face, you assemble everything on the bottom crust.
- Spread Olive Tapenade evenly over bottomAdd one layer spaced equally apart of the roasted red pepper so it covers the bottom of the loafCrumble your goat cheese over the top of the roasted red pepper, evenly arranged.Place the artichokes quarted hearts over the goat cheese.Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of dressing over all the ingredients.Add the meat in evenly placed layers on top of the artichokes and goat cheese. You can start with prosciutto and then the salami.Time to scatter all the herbs, fresh basil, cilantro and parsley over the meat.Drizzle the remaining dressing into the top of sandwichs bread and on top of the fresh herbs.Place the top crust to complete the assembly of the sandwich.
- Wrap the whole sandwich in parchment paper and time with twine. You can secure it to a flat surface like a cutting board so you can store in the refrigerator. Before placing in the fridge, you need to put a heavy item on top of the covered sandwich. I have used a brick or heavy cast iron skillet, and they both work great.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 4 hours.
- Slice the sandwich into 1 1/2 inch slices and serve.
Did you make this recipe?
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