Italian Sub Sandwich
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This Italian Sub Sandwich has salami, pepperoni, ham, mozzarella, tomatoes, shredded lettuce & is topped with a delicious red wine vinaigrette. It is a simple but really satisfying and filling dinner (or lunch) to throw together – and it works perfectly for nights when you are on the go. Just make the sandwich, wrap it up, and bring with you while you’re at kids’ activities or nighttime outings.
One thing I love about this Italian Sub Sandwich, is the depth of flavor for how simple it is to throw together – the Italian meats, combined with the creamy fresh mozzarella cheese, with the fresh veggies, and the bright red wine vinaigrette make for tons of complex flavors in a dish that takes only a couple minutes to throw together.
Marinating the Red Onions
In almost all dishes with uncooked onions, I like to marinate the red onions in a sauce or dressing before using. Not only does it cut down on the harshness that can sometimes come with fresh raw onions, but it also infuses some of that onion flavor into the dressing. For this Italian Sub Sandwich, you’ll make up the simple red wine vinaigrette, then pour a little over the thinly sliced red onions, to marinate for a couple minutes (or longer!) while you prepare the rest of the sandwich. Then, when ready to add the onions you’ll pour them with that vinaigrette over the sandwich and it’s the perfect bright and tangy topping to all the salty meats.
We love sandwich meals in our house – there’s something about taking a simple meal idea like a sandwich and elevating it with high quality ingredients – not only does it make dinner prep so much faster but sandwiches always seem to be a crowd pleaser with my family (or guests). I love that sandwiches can also be easily customized for picky eaters. For my pickier eaters I leave the onions and vinaigrette off their portion ; )
Italian Sub Sandwich
Equipment
- toothpicks
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Italian Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Sandwich Ingredients
- Italian loaf or good quality bread (or individual buns or hoagies)
- salami, sliced thin (I like Italian dry salami)
- pepperoni, sliced thin
- deli ham or Italian capicola, sliced thin
- fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
- red onions, sliced thin
- tomatoes, sliced
- shredded lettuce
Instructions
Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Mix all vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar or other airtight container. Shake well to combine.
- Pour a small amount of the vinaigrette over the sliced red onions. This will soften the onions a bit and flavor the vinaigrette.
Sandwich Assembly
- To begin the sandwich, using your hands, remove a small part of the top piece of the inside of the bread loaf. This will allow more room for all the sandwich ingredients to fit in the bread without coming out the sides.
- Using a basting brush, generously brush both sides of the bread with the vinaigrette.
- Build the sandwich by layering slices of salami, pepperoni, and ham on one side of the bread. Then add the fresh mozzarella, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and then top with the marinated red onions, pouring extra vinaigrette as desired over the sandwich.
- Next step is cutting the sandwich into pieces. (Skip this step if you're making individual sandwiches on smaller buns.)To make this cleaner, you can first wrap the sandwich in parchment paper. This will help keep all the ingredients in tact.
- Once wrapped tightly with parchment, place several toothpicks in the sandwich (depending on how many sandwiches you'd like – we made 4 so I used 4 toothpicks).Slide the toothpicks in deeply to keep the sandwich together.
- Cut the sandwich between the toothpicks to form individual smaller sandwiches.These transport well if wrapped tightly in plastic cling wrap – an easy meal on the go.Enjoy!
I hope you get a chance to make this Italian Sub Sandwich – it’s the perfect Sandwich meal. Tag me @plumstreetcollective on Instagram if you decide to make this sandwich. Thanks for reading!
