On Monday, in keeping with my serious affection for cured meets, I picked up a salami at Whole Foods. When I first got it home, I ate a few thin slices straight up to get a feel for its taste and flavor. Then I had a few slices with mustard on a cracker, along with a glass of Pinot Noir, and thought about different ways to incorporate it into other dishes.

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and the salami started calling me from the refrigerator (cured meats don’t survive long around here). I had some mixed greens (baby chard, radicchio, spinach, arugula) onhand from testing salad recipes, and some whole grain bread and fresh mozzarella in the refrigerator. So I decided to make a sandwich.

Here’s what I did:

I sliced a couple of pieces of bread and put them under the broiler just long enough to crisp them a little on the outside, and keep them soft on the inside. I put them out on the cutting board and got the rest of the sandwich ingredients together.

In a small bowl, I whisked together a tablespoon or so each of Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and olive oil. I seasoned the dressing with just a little salt (since the salami was already salty) and lots of fresh ground black pepper.

I poured the dressing over a big handful of greens, and tossed them with a couple of spoons to coat them.

I patted the fresh mozzarella dry so it wouldn’t soak the bread, cut a few thick slices and layered them on the first piece of bread.

Then I topped the mozzarella with a handful of greens. I figured I’d get as many on there as I could, and just let the excess fall away as I put the sandwich together.

I topped the greens with a few slices of salami,

put the second piece of bread on top,

pressed the sandwich down,

and cut it in half at an angle.

All four salad components — the meaty, salty salami; the mild lactic mozzarella; the mustardy, peppery greens and the hearty whole grain bread — complemented each other beautifully.

Maybe next time I’ll add a sweet component. Roasted red bell peppers?

Posted by brys in craving, recipes, ingredients, techniques | | Subscribe to this feed