The Italian Sandwich: What We Ate Across Italy.
Sandwiches are such a simple idea, but when they’re put together properly, they become one of the most satisfying things you can eat. Good bread, good fillings, nothing complicated — just honest ingredients doing exactly what they’re meant to do
Whilst travelling through Italy we found ourselves actively seeking out sandwiches wherever we were, each region had it’s own identity based on what was made or grown in that area.
Italian sandwiches embody simplicity through their reliance on high-quality ingredients and straightforward preparation.
The Bread.
The bread really does change everything. Every region has its own style of bread, the southern regions like Puglia and Calabria seemed to favour softer thicker breads like foccacia and panino. Whereas in the north the breads leans more towards thinner and crispier styles.
One style that stood out to us most was schiacciata (pronounced ski-a-cha-ta) which we had in Florence. Similar to focaccia, schiacciata is noticeably thinner, it bakes up with a thin golden, crisp exterior and a chewy, slightly springy interior. It’s the kind of bread that feels designed for sandwiches — sturdy enough to hold generous fillings, yet light enough to keep every bite balanced.
We loved it so much that we ended up making our own version at home. If you want to try it yourself, we’ve written a simple schiacciata recipe here.
The fillings.
When it comes to sandwiches and their fillings, we always like to follow the rule of less is more. This is a concept that you see across the board in all great sandwiches like B.L.T’s (Bacon, lettuce, and tomato) or a good grilled cheese (Cheese, pickle, and mustard).
This is a principle we found to ring true in Italy too. Most sandwiches had a meat, a cheese, and a condiment of some kind.
Let’s talk about some of these fillings.
Cured meats, Sausages and salamis.
Cured meats are proteins preserved through salting, drying, fermentation, and sometimes smoking. These methods inhibit spoilage while intensifying flavour and developing unique textures over a period of time ranging from months to years. Below is a selection of some of our favourite cured meats and salamis that we tried.
Proscuitto:
Prosciutto is a dry-cured pork hind leg/thigh, salted and aged to develop a delicate, lightly sweet flavour and tender, translucent slices.
Coppa:
Coppa is a dry-cured pork neck or shoulder, seasoned with salt and spices, then aged to develop a balanced, mildly spiced flavour and firm, marbled slices.
Bresaola:
Bresaola is air-dried, salt-cured beef made primarily from the lean eye of round (or similar hind-leg cuts), aged until firm and aromatic, yielding clean, savoury slices.
Mortadella:
Mortadella is a finely emulsified pork sausage from Bologna, typically made from lean shoulder and back fat cubes, gently seasoned and slow-cooked to create smooth, aromatic slices.
Finocchiona (Fennel salami):
Finocchiona is a Tuscan dry-cured salami made from seasoned pork shoulder and belly, flavoured prominently with fennel seed and pollen, then aged to produce aromatic, gently spiced slices.
Cheeses.
Cheese vary from region to region, ranging anywhere from fresh young cheeses like ricotta all the way through aged cheeses like parmigiano reggiano. Here is some of our favourites that we tried.
Mozzarella di Bufala:
Mozzarella di Bufala is a fresh Italian cheese made from water buffalo milk, prized for its soft texture, clean acidity, and rich, milky flavour.
Stracciatella:
Stracciatella is a fresh Italian cheese made from torn mozzarella mixed with cream, known for its loose texture and rich, milky flavour.
Provolone:
Provolone is a semi-hard Italian cow’s milk cheese, aged for varying lengths of time, with a flavour that ranges from mild and buttery to sharp and piquant.
Asiago:
Asiago is an Italian cow’s milk cheese from the Veneto region, ranging from fresh and mild to semi-hard and nutty as it ages, with a clean, balanced flavour that works well sliced or melted.
These are few standout sandwiches we tried along the way and where to go when in Italy:
Monopoli - Olive paste, sundried tomato, burrata, and arugula
Syracuse - Coppa, truffle, and straciatella
Rome - Mortadella, artichoke, pistachio crema,
Florence - Fennel salami, truffle paste, Asiago cheese
Milan - Prosciutto, truffle oil, pickled eggplant, mozzarella
But where can you get these things in BC?
There are many great places that import these styles of meats and cheese’s, as well as some fantasticly made local options too. Heres some of our recommendations:
Based on granville Island in Vancouver, these guys make some outstanding cured meats, salami’s and sausage products. (Note Weinbergs good food stores stock products from these guys too)
Natural pastures Cheese Company.
These guys make great cheese! This is the perfect place to get fresh Mozzarella di Bufala made right on Vancouver Island.
A great specialty food store, with a fantastic selection of local and international food stuffs.
As we get the hang of this blog thing we will continue to add more content of our adventures, recipes and info for you to follow along and try yourself…