Tomato Mozarella Sandwich

I love a good sandwich. Grilled, toasted, or just packed in a brown paper lunch sack, I will always have a love for sandwiches. Now that I’m older, I have moved on from the standard white bread with the crusts removed or the even better- sandwiches cut into hearts by my mom with a cookie cutter. Lately, I have been inspired to experiment with different kinds of breads. My latest craze has been Ciabatta Bread.  While it might sound intimidating, I made mine from scratch and it was actually really easy. I found a straightforward recipe that did not use poolish on a baking blog, La Petit Brioche. The recipe makes two big loaves, one of which would make a great gift to friends or can be frozen easily. To freeze it, wrap it in saran-wrap, and then wrap it in foil and place in a two gallon Ziploc bag.

If you don’t want to make the bread by hand, you could easily just buy a loaf at the grocery store.  To continue with my tomato theme this week, I made my version of tomato mozzarella sandwiches. These would be really great in a panini press or grilled. I made too many on purpose and refrigerated the rest which I have been eating for lunch all week!

Tomato Mozzarella Sandwiches

For Sandwich:

·         1 loaf Ciabatta Bread

·         1 ball Fresh Mozzarella, sliced

·         1 Yellow Bell Pepper, roasted* and sliced

·         2 tomatoes, sliced

·         ¼ Red Onion, thinly sliced

For Balsamic/Pesto Spread:

·         1 ½  tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

·         3 tablespoons Basil Pesto

Mix all ingredients for the Balsamic/Pesto spread together in a small bowl.

Slice Ciabatta Bread in half horizontally down the loaf. Then cut into desired sandwich sizes. Spread the Balsamic/Pesto spread on the inside of the bottom of the bread. Layer roasted yellow bell pepper slice, tomato slice, the mozzarella slice and red onion slices.

*I often cook with roasted bell peppers. To roast a bell pepper on a grill, heat the grill to high. Place bell pepper on the grill until it starts to get black marks. Rotate pepper until black marks are present on all sides. Immediately remove and put in a Ziploc bag for 20 minutes. When you take it out, the skin should easily peel off and throw away. The bell pepper is now roasted and ready to use. If you don’t have a grill (or don’t want to use one), you can repeat these steps in the oven using the boiler setting.