If you’ve been in our Recipe Club for a while, you already know that we know our way around a stellar sandwich. And one of the fastest ways to take a sandwich from “nice” to “next level” is to supersize it for a crowd. It’s just simple facts. People get very excited about giant sandwiches. Normal sandwiches are great and all but there’s something just so darn fun about an oversized sub, stuffed to the gills with savory deliciousness. Classic Italian was the inspiration here but naturally we took ours up several notches with the addition of marinated onions, banana pepper mayo and spicy Calabrian Bomba spread. Next stop: flavortown.
GIANT ITALIAN SUB
1 large, sturdy loaf of bread (we used ciabatta)
2-3 heaping spoonfuls of Banana Pepper Mayo, see recipe below
Generous drizzle of good quality olive oil
1-2 tsp. Calabrian Bomba spread
¼ lb. sharp provolone, thinly sliced
¼ lb. genoa salami, thinly sliced
¼ lb. hot capicola, thinly sliced
¼ lb. mortadella, thinly sliced
Marinated Onions, see recipe below
1 thinly sliced tomato, salted and set on paper towels to drain
½ head iceberg lettuce, shaved very thin
Marinated Onions:
1 small onion, sliced very thin
6 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 smashed garlic clove
¼ tsp. ground oregano
Salt, pepper
Banana Pepper Mayo:
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. jarred banana peppers + 1 tbsp. of the brine from the jar
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
Make the Marinated Onions: thinly slice onion and place in a small bowl. Top with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic clove, oregano and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Stir together to fully coat the onions and let sit at room temperature until ready to use. Store leftover marinated onions in the fridge, but remove and bring to room temperature before using as Extra Virgin Olive Oil will solidify in the refrigerator.
Make the Banana Pepper Mayo: in a small bowl combine mayonnaise with chopped banana peppers and brine. Add ground black pepper, stir together thoroughly to combine. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
Use a serrated knife to thinly slice your tomatoes and then set the slices on a few pieces of paper towel. Salt generously to season. This will draw a little of their liquid out. You can blot off the excess before adding them to the sandwich. It helps to make the tomatoes a little less unruly, as they so often can be in a sandwich.
Line a large cutting board with 2 slices of parchment paper. Slice your loaf of bread in half horizontally and lay both sides, face up on the paper. Dress the top half with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a thin spread of Calabrian Bomba spread. Use more or less spread depending on your spice tolerance. Spread Banana Pepper Mayo all over the bottom half of the bread. Shingle the provolone on top of the mayo, followed by the Genoa salami, then the hot capicola and finally the mortadella. Layer your tomatoes on top of the meats followed by the Marinated Onions and then as much shredded iceberg as you can feasibly pile on top. Use a spoon to collect a bit of the liquid from the bowl of Marinated Onions and drizzle this dressing on top of the lettuce. Place the top half of the bread on and then tightly wrap the whole sub with the parchment paper.
To serve: use a large serrated bread knife to cut into individual servings, using a sawing motion instead of pressing down, so all the good stuff doesn’t smoosh out. It may be helpful to use some oversized toothpicks to hold slices in place as you portion it out.
To make this ahead of time: tightly wrap the sub in parchment and then wrap again in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. It will be ideal within the first 2-3 hours but could go up to 4 before serving.
BEVERAGE PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
The flavors in this sub are explosive: savory, spicy, cool, crunchy, tangy. It’s got it ALL going on. When we decided to make a Giant Italian Sub we knew we’d stick with traditional Italian cured meats as the main characters. We chose pillowy Mortadella, spicy hot Capicola and savory Genoa salami and the combination of these three is like the holy trinity of sub meats – fat, salt and heat in perfect tandem. To stand up against these flavorful, salty cold cuts, we wanted some high acid wines from Italy. For the white, we landed on Gavi, a Northern Italian white wine made of 100% cortese grapes. The Piona Gavi shows clear straw yellow in the glass with hints of green. On the nose it’s bright with juicy citrus flavors framed by hints of cut grass and white flowers. On the palate, this wine is nicely textured, fruit forward and snappy on the finish, with just a touch of salinity. It’s a perfect partner to lighten up this giant sub.
For a red, we think a classic match here is Chianti or Chianti Classico. The Badia a Coltibuono Cetamura Chianti is bright ruby colored in the glass with aromas of cherries and flowers. A super approachable wine in both price and profile we love its tart fruit flavors and clean finish. If you’d like to step up a bit, the Santa Margherita Chianti Classico Reserva would also fit the bill here. Ruby colored in the glass with aromas of cherry, plum and earth. On the palate, this wine is well rounded and bright, with a warm, grippy finish. Please note that the Cetamura Chianti is only available in our Milton store.
When it comes to beer – a light, crisp pils would be perfect here. If you’d like to stick with an Italian beer, Peroni would be perfect. But you know us and we love the locals. For something brewed closer to home we love Peak Organic’s Happy Hour Pils. Brewed in Portland, Maine, this is a crisp, clean, crushable beer that is super easygoing and goes with just about anything. A cold crisp pils and this salty sub? Count us in.