#readcookeat recipe : Mediterranean-style Picnic Bread (Under A Sardinian Sky)

Under A Sardinian Sky was an enjoyable read (click through for my review) but it's been even better as inspiration for some fabulous meals ... and I haven't even started on the desserts yet ! After munching on a hearty Sausage & Lentil Stew and nibbling on deep-fried cheese pastries called Seadas, this time I turned to the ultimate picnic food.

p123 Carmela took the loaf from her sister and began cutting it into thick slices. The smell of mortadella and ham mixed with the marinated peppers and eggplant that she and her sister had stuffed it with drew her back to the start of the day : the cool, clean of the kitchen, the safe order of her world. She arranged the slices on a wide plate, then cut thin lengths of chicory and made a green nest at the centre before trimming a couple of stalks of celery and placing those on top.

For the last week of term, our school canteen stopped functioning because there were barely any pupils left (the school closes to pupils for three days as an exam centre and hardly anyone comes back for the last couple of days before the holidays), so I was on the lookout for inspiring packed lunches. This was delicious and was also a great way of clearing out the fridge.

Mediterranean-style Picnic Bread

ingredients :

1 ciabatta loaf

4tbsp pesto

4 slices of mortadella

1/2 a jar of sun-dried tomatoes

a few slices of cheese (cheddar would do, or parmesan, gruyère, edam, etc)

a few slices of polony-type sausage

6 cucumber slices

Rip out most of the soft bread - don't throw it away. It can be used in gazpacho, toasted and blitzed as a crunchy breadcrumb coating for fish or chicken or munched straight away, dipped in olive oil and spices.

Spread liberally with pesto.

Start with a layer of mortadella.

Add a layer of juicy sun-dried tomatoes.

I had the end of a polony-type sausage and the remains of the Italian cheese from the seadas in the fridge, so they went in next.

I finished off with a row of cucumber slices, to add some crunch, but just use whatever you have in the fridge. 

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Pop the lid back on and press flat.

Wrap tightly in foil and slice into servings. It's ideal as picnic or packed lunch food.

Linking up with the #readcookeat linky at Chez Maximka.

Also adding to the #KitchenClearout linky as it was perfect for clearing out the fridge.