Zesty Italian Pesto Club Sandwich

 

We are big Italian food and flavor lovers at our house so I knew it was going to be a great day when Oscar Mayer sent me a big box of their new Old World style Pepperoni and Salami. Along with some extra fixings this was the beginnings of a great sandwich! These new products became available in August (just in time for back to school) and sell for about $3.29. Though the product is new, the meats are made from an old Mayer family recipe dating back to 1922. These flavorful meats are great for snacking or sandwiching (yes I made that word up!) and better yet, they have up to 8 grams of protein per serving. BOOM!

My husband and I love to create new sandwich combinations. We have come up with several sandwiches that our friends and family members have adopted into their daily lives and love so much. With the Italian cogs turning, I think we came up with a tasty sandwich that also has a little ZING to it!

The first thing I think of when I think of Italian sandwiches is pesto! YUM! We LOVE pesto at my house. Basil pesto is really good by itself but with a simple add in, it becomes wonderful!

 

Now that you have your sauce for the sandwich, gather all the lovely pieces to this work of art so you can begin building it. For this particular sandwich we will be using the Oscar Mayer Old World Style meats:

• Classic Pepperoni
• Turkey Pepperoni
• Classic Salami
• Cracked Black Pepper Salami

You will also need some thinly sliced Mozzarella cheese and some delicious, fresh, thick French bread.

Now it’s time to layer up and make it tall. First spread the pesto on both sides of the bread. Use it all, don’t be shy. Then place two slices of cheese on each side of the bread to lock it in. Then starting with the bottom piece of bread we begin to layer. In my opinion it’s best to use two of the same meats to cover the bread before moving onto to a different meat. We want lots of flavor, but we want it concentrated in an area. So we will layer all of the meats two at a time. Then place two pieces of cheese and begin again with the meat layering. After the second round now it’s time to top with produce. Romain lettuce and some tomato slices are perfect. At the last-minute my husband decided to add some Chicago style veggies (but spoiler alert, he wouldn’t add them again).

For those of you that are visual, here is a step by step picture of building this beautiful sandwich.

My husband really enjoyed the sandwich. It was huge, he got really full. My baby also really loved the sandwich as well. One thing to note is that some of the meat is spicy and with so much of it on the sandwich it really created a big kick – so the sandwich is spicy! Now you know! I also really love how big the pieces of meat are. They are perfect size for making big sandwiches.

Building sandwiches and coming up with new creations is so much fun, especially when you have such high quality, delicious products like the Oscar Mayer Old World Style Pepperoni and Salami. This sandwich is perfect to pack for a lunch when you are on the go, going to work or kids off to school. If you are home for lunch then throw this in the oven or on a panini maker and eat it warm. I can only image how yummy it would be with gooey, melty Mozzarella cheese!

That was a long-winded way of giving you this awesome sandwich recipe. Here is the short recap if you want to take notes:

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp basil pesto
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Italian dressing
• French bread
• Oscar Mayer Old World Style Pepperoni’s and Salami’s
• Thin sliced Mozzarella cheese
• lettuce
• tomato slices
• Chicago Style Veggies (optional)

Directions:

• For Pesto Spread – Mix pesto and Italian dressing together.
• Spread pesto on French bread
• Layer 4 pieces of cheese, two on each side of the bread
• Layer meats two pieces at a time
• Repeat with cheese in middle, and meats again
• Top with Chicago style veggies (if desired), lettuce and tomato
• ENJOY

*NOTE*: If you wanted to make this warm, you would layer the cheese and meats and then broil for 1-2 minutes or press in a panini maker. I don’t like cold produce on my warm sandwiches so I would eat it with out, you can add whatever you want to your warm sandwich.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.