Today I ordered the #8- Mar's Paesani. This sandwich was named after Mark Hamel's Aunt Marlene, who is 100% Italian, coming from Calabria, located in the heel of the Italian Boot. The word "Paesani" is Italian for friends or countrymen. Therefore, the name of the sandwich is in reference to Marlene's compadres.
The Mar's Paesani is made on Zingerman's Rustic Italian Bread. It used to be made on a small paesano roll; however the crust was often too tough to really be enjoyable. Italian Rustic is my favorite bread that we carry. It is made with unbromated unbleached wheat flour, water, sea salt, and yeast. I really like this bread because the crust is very soft and easy to enjoy. Fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, lettuce, salami, and Italian Pesto complete this sandwich.
The pesto that we use is called Crespi Pesto, and it is made in Genoa, in the Liguria region of Italy. I have always enjoyed pesto on pasta and sandwiches, but when reading the ingredients of our pesto I realized that I had no idea what it consisted of. Pesto is made mostly with basil leaves (ours is 49%), extra virgin olive oil (45%). The other 6% is parmigano reggiano, pecorino cheese, pine seeds, garlic, and salt. Most pesto found in supermarkets replace the pine nuts with walnuts or cashews because it cuts down on the cost.
Overall, I really enjoyed this sandwich. I loved the pesto and the mozzarella cheese. The salami wasn't my favorite part of the sandwich, but the other flavors helped me to be able to enjoy it. The flavor added by the roasted red peppers and the artichoke hearts made this sandwich even more unique. This was a good one, and I'm really glad I tried it!
This sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteThe pesto and mozzarella are gorgeous! The artichoke hearts can slip out now and then so it isn't the neatest sandwich but it is quite good. Very subtle and many rich flavors. I have to agree that the salami isn't the star of this sandwich... if I had to chose it would be the mozzarella.
ReplyDeleteI tend to order this sandwich when I don't want a strong taste but I want something good. And something that sits very nicely in my stomach. This is one of my most frequently ordered sandwiches (I would put it at... 3rd or 4th perhaps). I've ordered it about a dozen times and I've never had any complaints.