Pressed sandwich

Sandwiches are perfect picnic food because they’re transportable, infinitely variable and so easy to serve. That said, who wants to make sandwich after sandwich?

Enter the pressed sandwich. Designed to feed multiple people, it’s basically a loaf of some sort of rustic bread that’s been split and hollowed out, and then stuffed with meats, cheeses, veggies or whatever your heart’s desire. Ciabatta, a fat, flat Italian loaf is a favorite building block, but a crusty French bread or good sourdough will work, too.

Once filled, cover the sandwich with plastic wrap, really tightly, so the layers flatten, and then stick it in the fridge with some sort of weight on top (a cast-iron skillet works) for at least an hour to allow the flavors to fuse together. Think panini, only with less fuss.

The Italian version constructs the sandwich with a variety of cured meats — Genoa salami, sweet sopressata and hot capicola — topped with creamy, fresh mozzarella and a lightly dressed arugula salad. But the beauty of this dish is that you can fill the bread with anything you like.

ITALIAN PICNIC SANDWICH

Makes 4 to 6 servings

A sandwich is only as good as the bread it’s made on, so spring for a high-quality artisan loaf. Don’t be afraid to make it ahead of time — pressed sandwiches keep really well in the fridge for several days.

1 large loaf ciabatta bread, sliced in half horizontally (but not all the way through)

1/3 cup homemade or jarred pesto ¼ to ½ pound thinly sliced sweet

sopressata

¼ to ½ pound thinly sliced Genoa

salami

¼ to ½ pound thinly sliced hot

capicola

¾-pound ball lightly salted fresh

mozzarella, sliced or torn

2 cups baby arugula

1½ tablespoons lemon juice, from

half of a lemon

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup diced red hot cherry pepper spread, optional

Open loaf of bread and hollow it out by pulling out some of the bread. Spread pesto evenly inside of the 2 sides of bread. Layer loaf by starting with sopressata, salami, capicola and mozzarella.

In a small bowl, toss together arugula, lemon juice and olive oil. Top meats and cheese with the salad. Sprinkle cherry pepper spread, if using, on top of salad. Top with the remaining half of the bread and press together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate, weighted down with a cast-iron pan or between two cutting boards, for at least 1 hour or up to overnight before slicing and serving.

Note: A nutritional analysis is not available.