The best sandwiches are often the ones that are thrown together in just a few minutes. You grab whatever your fridge offers without overloading the whole composition and straining your taste buds. Just a few contrasting flavours and textures, the bread has to be fresh – soft and juicy to soak up the filling – and you’re done.
Cheese is made for sandwiches and mozzarella is always a good choice, the creamier mozzarella di bufala or burrata are even better. A dark tapenade made of black olives, capers, and anchovy adds depth, refined with a handful of fresh parsley. This lies on a bed of arugula, the spicy leaves go so well with preserved lemons, which I use for the salty-sour topping. You can find them in big supermarkets but I recommend preserving your own. Tucked in a jar with lots of coarse sea salt for a month, the citrus fruit slowly becomes soft and ready to add some tangy bite to meat and vegetable dishes – or sandwiches.
I developed this sandwich recipe for the West Elm blog, where you can also find this recipe and the wooden chopping board you see in the pictures – it’s just the right size for a loaf of bread and some cheese for late evening cravings on the sofa. The linen napkin and stoneware bowl and plate are also from their shop. This post was sponsored by West Elm to make my kitchen a little prettier!
Mozzarella di Bufala and Olive Tapenade Sandwich with Preserved Lemon
You can use leftover tapenade for spaghetti.
Makes 4 small sandwiches
For the olive tapenade
pitted black olives, preferably Kalamata, 100g / 3 1/2 ounces
flat-leaf parsley leaves 10g / 1 small handful
small red onion, chopped, 1/2
capers, preferably preserved in salt, rinsed and dried, 1 tablespoon
anchovy filet, rinsed, 1 (optional)
olive oil 6 tablespoons
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon
Ground pepper
ciabatta, 8 small slices
fresh rucola, 1 handful
mozzarella di bufala, torn into small pieces, 125g / 4 1/2 ounces
preserved lemon, thinly sliced, 1/4
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
For the tapenade, purée the olives, parsley, onion, capers, anchovy (optional), olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and pepper in a blender or food processor until smooth. Season with additional mustard, lemon juice, and pepper to taste.
Divide the rucola and mozzarella between 4 slices of bread and sprinkle with the tapenade, preserved lemon, and crushed pepper.
