This Italian Picnic Sandwich may seem super simple, and it is, but it’s also packed full of flavour and is perfect to prepare for a group or if you want to get organised for lunches in the week ahead this Summer.

Ingredients

Serving: 8 portions

🥖1 x large fresh loaf of robust bread (such as Sourdough, Boule or Ciabatta)
🟤2 x tablespoons Balsamic glaze
🍃2 x handfuls baby spinach
💚8 x marinated artichoke hearts from a jar, quartered
🫑250g roasted red and yellow peppers from a jar
🍅250g sundried tomatoes from a jar
🧅1/2 a red onion finely sliced
🍖8 x slices of Prosciutto
🍖8 x slices of Salami
🧀125g mozarella, sliced

For a veggie or vegan version, adjust ingredients as required.

Directions

Carefully remove the centre of the top of the loaf to create a ‘lid’ which can be placed back on top. Set the ‘lid’ to one side.

With your hands, remove all the bread from the inside of the loaf, leaving a hollow, but intact loaf with no holes in the casing.

Take all the ingredients and layer them up inside the loaf, creating distinct layers of meat, cheese and vegetables. Drizzle a little of the balsamic glaze between each layer. Press the layers down as you go to keep them tight and compressed.

Once the loaf is packed full, place the lid back on top. Wrap the whole, stuffed loaf in clingfilm then put in the fridge overnight, putting something weighted, such as tins or bottles of water, to weigh the loaf down and compress it further.

To serve: Unwrap the loaf from the clingfilm and slice, like a cake, into 8 slices. Enjoy and share with friends, or use it for your week’s lunches.