Pressed Brick Picnic Sandwich
Pressed Brick Sandwich is packed full of Italian meat, cheeses, olive paste, and more before being compacted into a delicious game day treat.
Make this Picnic Sandwich for your next summer outing or tailgate. You’ll be hooked immediately!!!
Picnic Sandwich
I have been meaning to make a stromboli since we trekked to Indiana University last fall for a football game against my alma mater. The morning started with sleet…a very bad sign for this gal who hates to be cold. As soon as we parked our car in the stadium parking lot, we met our friends and scurried to the gift shop to buy hats and scarves.
My sweet Italian friend brought her world-famous stromboli, packed with meats and cheeses. But a scrap of paper with her recipe was buried somewhere in my kitchen, under a year’s worth of print offs, so I went to an old favorite for this week’s tailgate. Martha Stewart inspired this pressed brick sandwich that’s packed full of Mediterranean goodies like roasted peppers, marinated artichokes, salami, prosciutto, and Provolone.
How to Make a Pressed Brick Sandwich
Feel free to vary the ingredients depending on your preferences. The picky hubby pulled out the artichoke hearts. I’m not a huge fan of goat cheese, so next time I may add fresh mozzarella or even Brie. This sandwich is filled with Italian meat, cheese, vegetables, and olive spread.
- Slice the ciabatta horizontally, then partially hollow out the bottom to make room for the fillings.
- Next, whisk together the simple vinaigrette.
- Start layering. If you use homemade olive paste like I did when the shelves were bare, make sure to drain it as mine was a bit more watery than desired.
- Make sure to drizzle the vinaigrette over the goat cheese layer, then again over the meat layer.
- Finish with the herbs, then top with the other half of the ciabatta.
- Wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap, then place it on a baking sheet or cutting board.
- Weight down the sandwich by placing a heavy skillet (cast iron works well) or a couple of bricks on top of the sandwich.
- Let compress in the refrigerator for about an hour.
- Slice and serve!
Popular Sandwich Variations
If you’re like me, you may not be sure what the difference is between a submarine sandwich, hoagie, hero, etc. Then there is this pressed brick or picnic sandwich to confuse things even more. Here is some clarification.
- A Sub Sandwich is named for its submarine shape. The term encompasses many of the sandwich categories below. Served on a long Italian roll, it’s filled with meat, cheese, extras like lettuce and tomatoes, plus a dressing. They’re usually served cold.
- A Hero is served hot or cold and was named after a New York columnist described a sandwich you had to be a hero to eat! Besides deli meats, a hero can be filled with chicken parmesan or meatballs.
- A Hoagie was named by the Italian immigrants who worked on the Philadelphia Naval Yard on Hog’s Island, first called a hoggie, then hoagie. It’s filled with Italian meat and cheeses and served cold.
- A Grinder is popular in New England and served hot or cold. Instead of just cold cuts and cheeses, a grinder can be filled with sliced chicken and meatballs.
- A Pressed Brick Sandwich is not a submarine sandwich, but instead served on a hollowed ciabatta bread and weighted down with bricks or a heavy pan to compress the fillings. It can also be called a Picnic Sandwich since it is perfect to take to a park on a summer afternoon.
Best Tailgate and Picnic Ideas:
The game was delayed for over an hour due to lightning strikes around the stadium. My fingers and toes were so numb that I elected to stay in the car and listen to the game on the radio (I’m certain my college friends are NOT surprised). I think I’ll pass on any November football games this coming season! Here are a few more delicious game day recipes:
- Bacon and Onion Dip by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Cosmic Brownies
- Antipasto Skewers
- Football Sandwich Cookies
- Easy S’mores Dip
- Best Game Day Snacks
- More Game Day Recipes
- More Sandwich Recipes
Pressed Brick Sandwich
Layers of wonderful meats and vegetables are dressed with a vinaigrette and sandwiched in a loaf of ciabatta, then compacted for a most delightful treat!
Ingredients
- 3 whole roasted red bell peppers (use jarred or roast your own), sliced into 3/4 inch strips
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 loaf ciabatta
- 1/2 cup black-olive paste
- 4 ounces fresh goat cheese
- 8 ounces marinated artichoke hearts
- 4 ounces sliced Provolone
- 6 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
- 1/4 pound Genoa salami, thinly sliced
- 1-2 cups loosely packed mixed fresh herbs (I used flat leaf parsley and basil)
Instructions
Make the vinaigrette:
- Combine mustard and vinegar. Gradually whisk in olive oilthen add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Assemble sandwich:
- Slice loaf of bread horizontally, and remove bready interior. Spread olive paste on the bottom crust, and add the pepper strips.
- Crumble goat cheese on top of peppers. Arrange artichoke hearts over goat cheese.
- Drizzle half of the vinaigrette on top. Arrange Provolone slices, then prosciutto and salami over artichoke hearts.
- Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Sprinkle with herbs. Place the top crust on sandwich.
- Wrap the sandwich with plastic wrap and set something heavy like a brick or or cast-iron skillet on top for at least 1 hour. Slice to serve.
Notes
Total time does not include pressing time.
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 361Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 1379mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 17g
51 Comments on “Pressed Brick Picnic Sandwich”
This is such a delish sandwich! It travels great and tastes even better!
G’day! Your sandwich looks delish, Liz, true!
Your photos are mouth watering and just finished lunch, but could go for a slice of this right now too!
Congrats on being the winner!
Cheers! Joanne
Viewed as part of Your Best Recipes Sept
Lizzy, this is one scrumptious looking sandwich! Your photos are gorgeous too. Thanks for being a part of the YBR and congrats!:)
I must have missed this sandwich. I love this and yours turned out perfect. What a fun way to serve sandwiches especially on game day. Beautiful job!
WOW there’s a whole lot of goodness going on there! I wonder what would happen if I popped that baby in a panini press …!
Mmmmm….you have some fantastic goodies stuffed in this sandwich! Awesome!
Lizzy,
Anything with goat cheese and I’m in. Love this.
Annamaria
Wow… that sandwich is amazing. I would have to very happy carnivores in my house if I pulled that sandwich out. 🙂
I have a student at work that always wants her lunch sandwich “smashed”. We have grill weights, but I think she would get a kick out of a brick!
Oh, I also hate being cold! But I do love pressed sandwiches. Craving this one right now!
YUM!
Looks so good, I love the fillings and the presentation. I have made one of these but called it a muffaletta, I have never heard the term brick loaf before 🙂