(overnight) stuffed deli sandwich: it goes to work while you sleep!

stuffed deli sandwich

The French have pan bagnat, those from New Orleans have the muffaletta. Here in Kentish Town, I have a deli sandwich that goes to work while you are sleeping and tastes divine.

Take your favourite deli ingredients (and yes potato salad isn't traditional, but I like it) stuff them into a hollowed-out loaf, wrap in clingfilm and press down. Leave overnight in a cool place. By the time you unwrap the sandwich all the ingredients have got to know each other and the olive oil soaks through the bread, infusing it with yet more flavours. Absolutely delicious.

stuffed deli sandwich

The glorious food writer, MFK Fisher (quite a gal by all accounts), greeted her visitor, Chef Jon Ash, (as recounted to Mark Kurlansky in his collection of food essays, Choice Cuts), with a small wrapped parcel and asked him to sit on it while they talked. A few hours later she announced that lunch was ready – the two of them had been cooking their own sandwiches with the warmth of their posteriors! So to take a leaf out of Ms Fisher (not the bum sandwich suggestion) but serve these delicious sandwiches with lashings of red wine and good company.

Serves 4
Skill level: Easy

ingredients:
1 large round artisan sourdough loaf (about 20 centimetres diameter)
potato salad (preferably homemade with gherkins and chopped spring onions)
hazelnut and sundried tomato pesto
thinly sliced cured ham (Ventracina salami, prosciutto, chorizo, etc)
marinated green olives, sliced
cheese (Emmenthal, Gruyere, young Pecorino, Provolone, hard or soft goats' cheese, Manchego)
gherkin (if none in the potato salad)
roasted red peppers (from a jar)
sun-dried tomatoes (in oil)
roasted artichokes (in oil)
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

other nice things to add:
capers
chopped celery
chopped spring onions
anchovy fillets (in oil)
basil pesto
grilled pancetta
mi cuit tomatoes or fresh baby plum tomatoes, finely sliced
fresh herbs (parsley, chives, basil or oregano)
rocket

directions:

1. Take the loaf and carefully cut the top off - not too large but wide enough to get your hand inside the loaf to pull out the dough.
2. Scoop the bread out from inside the loaf (either eat then and there, save to make breadcrumbs, feed your birds or take to the park to feed the ducks!) You should leave a "wall" of bread about 1 centimetre thick.
3. Spread the potato salad across the bottom and then a thin layer of hazelnut pesto.
4. Start layering with all your other ingredients, starting with slices of meat, then a layer of vegetables, then cheese. Repeat (either with the same ingredients or with a different type of meat, cheese and vegetables).
5. Make sure that the ingredients are pushed well up to the sides of the loaf. Press down as you layer as well.
6. Add a quick grinding of black pepper between each layer.
7. When you can add no more, drizzle over a little olive oil. Brush the bread "lid" with a little more olive oil, the place firmly on top of the loaf.
8. Wrap the entire loaf tightly in grease-proof paper, then in clingfilm or kitchen foil.
9. Place on a clean chopping board or large plate. Place another chopping board on top of the loaf and weigh it down with heavy objects such as tins of beans. (I actually use about 6 heavy hard-backed cookery books, as you get a good distribution of weight!)Leave so that all the flavours can get to know each other. Nothing less than 12 hours will do in my opinion - but a couple of hours at a pinch!