Pressed Picnic Sandwich

I made a gargantuan sandwich to take to Shakespeare in the Park on Thursday. It was the perfect night, breezy and cool, to sit outside and watch a spectacular production of The Tragedy of Richard the Third...and enjoy a feast.

This recipe was inspired by one I saw on Martha Stewart's website. I didn't add a dressing, as she suggests, because I didn't want the sandwich to get soggy. Besides, the jarred olive tapanade was moist enough.

And, the leftovers were still okay two days later!

Here's what I did:

I used a rustic Tuscan loaf from Whole Foods, sliced in half horizontally.


I spread goat cheese on the top half, then topped it a combo of mortadella, capicola, and salami. I actually meant to put this on the bottom half, but it worked just fine this way.


I spread the other half with black olive tapanade.


Then, topped it with baby arugula.


Next came marinated artichoke hearts.


And a roasted red pepper.


Before pressing...


I wrapped the sandwich tightly and put a heavy cast-iron skillet on top. I let that sit until I was ready to go!


The sandwich was very tasty...and the bread held up well. I will definitely make this again!