A Zesty, Pressed, Portable Sandwich

Written By Francine Matalon-Degni

Fill your baguette end to end with lots of bone-blasting ingredients!

Sandwiches have a nostalgic quality, don’t you think? I remember when my sister and I were old enough to go to the beach by ourselves, we’d ferry salami with mustard on white bread in our beach bags, smooshed between towels, sun tan lotion, paddle ball rackets, and a transistor radio. They were pretty squashed by the time we washed them down with lemonade and beach sand, but I remember those salami sandwiches with as much fondness and sensory detail as I do the sun’s warmth on my goose-pimpled skin after a dip in the ocean, and the distant sounds of squawking seagulls and lifeguard whistles. Nowadays I ferry a combo that’s made on a sturdier, healthier whole grain bread, packed with a wallop of nutritionally rich and delicious ingredients. It’s squashed, or to use a cheffier term, “pressed” on purpose, during an overnight stay in the fridge. When taken on a jaunt to the beach or a picnic in the park, it’s the perfect temperature to eat by the time lunch rolls around. But if the farthest it’s traveling is to your kitchen table, make sure to take your sandwich out of the fridge early on in the day. Its multilayered, overnight snuggle reaches peak flavor at room temperature. A  Zesty Pressed, Portable Sandwich Serves 4This sandwich is a culinary treasure chest, overflowing with bone blasting nutrients. Let’s start with the sardines. These dark-fleshed fillets, with their silvery skin and tiny bones are among the very best foods you can eat when you’re trying to ward off the effects of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Packed into their tins is a wealth of protein, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids, the building blocks for better bones. In fact, sardines are on the short list of foods that, if eaten consistently, can lower the risk of hip fracture. Don’t skimp on the lemon slices. They bring an addicting brightness that totally wakes up the taste buds. So refreshing! And fret not about using unpeeled lemon. The highest concentration of vitamin C is found in a lemon’s skin, a plus for alkalizing the diet, and working to keep bone density at a healthy level, especially in the hip and lumbar spine area. Parsley adds even more bone protection by bringing in Vitamin K (those of us with a low Vitamin K intake may be more prone to developing osteoporosis and may be more at risk for hip fracture). The flavorful addition of chickpeas (protein,Vitamin K, calcium, copper, manganese), fennel (calcium, magnesium, vitamin C), artichokes (calcium, vitamin K, magnesium, potassium) and tomatoes (vitamin C) reinforces bone support as well, making for one heck of a tasty, substantial sandwich! 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained1 baguette, whole grain, or your favorite kind¼ cup EVOO flavored with 1-2 sprigs fresh, chopped rosemary and black pepper to taste1 cup flat parsley, leaves washed 2 large lemons, one thinly sliced (de-seed as you slice), the other juiced1 cup finely diced fennel12  cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half 12-14 artichoke heart quarters (either thawed from frozen or canned and drained)1 can sardines, whole with skin and bonesPlace chickpeas in a bowl. Using a potato masher (or your hands), lightly mash them to lessen their roundness—they’ll stay put a little better that way. Assemble herbed oil and prepped sandwich fixings near you. Slice open the baguette lengthwise and pull out the bready insides. (Reserve them for another use, such as bread crumbs, croutons or to thicken soups.) Unroll a sheet of plastic wrap on your counter a little longer than the length of the bread and place the bottom piece of the baguette on the wrap. Spoon some herbed oil down the length of the bread. Layer each ingredient, starting with parsley, then lemon, then chickpeas, fennel, tomatoes, and artichokes, ending with the sardines on top. When finished, drizzle with more herbed oil, then the lemon juice. Close sandwich with the top piece of bread, pull up the sides of the plastic, and tightly wrap, enclosing all the stray fillings. Secure with another layer of wrap if needed, to seal it up tightly. Set the sandwich in the fridge between two sheet trays. Weight the top with your kitchen staples—I like cans placed in heavy pans, but you can use bags of rice, a stack of skillets, or whatever heavy things are sitting in your kitchen (or your workshop—perhaps a couple of bricks).  Leave overnight to rest. Enjoy the next day at room temperature.Credits: Creative Director/Prop Styling, Francine Matalon-Degni; Photographer, Julie Benedetto; Food Stylist/Recipe Developer, Leslie Orlandini; Editor, Sarah Marie Degni; Logo Designer, Zoe Miolla

Sandwiches have a nostalgic quality, don’t you think? I remember when my sister and I were old enough to go to the beach by ourselves, we’d ferry salami with mustard on white bread in our beach bags, smooshed between towels, sun tan lotion, paddle ball rackets, and a transistor radio. They were pretty squashed by the time we washed them down with lemonade and beach sand, but I remember those salami sandwiches with as much fondness and sensory detail as I do the sun’s warmth on my goose-pimpled skin after a dip in the ocean, and the distant sounds of squawking seagulls and lifeguard whistles. Nowadays I ferry a combo that’s made on a sturdier, healthier whole grain bread, packed with a wallop of nutritionally rich and delicious ingredients. It’s squashed, or to use a cheffier term, “pressed” on purpose, during an overnight stay in the fridge. When taken on a jaunt to the beach or a picnic in the park, it’s the perfect temperature to eat by the time lunch rolls around. But if the farthest it’s traveling is to your kitchen table, make sure to take your sandwich out of the fridge early on in the day. Its multilayered, overnight snuggle reaches peak flavor at room temperature.


A  Zesty Pressed, Portable Sandwich 

Serves 4

This sandwich is a culinary treasure chest, overflowing with bone blasting nutrients. Let’s start with the sardines. These dark-fleshed fillets, with their silvery skin and tiny bones are among the very best foods you can eat when you’re trying to ward off the effects of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Packed into their tins is a wealth of protein, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids, the building blocks for better bones. In fact, sardines are on the short list of foods that, if eaten consistently, can lower the risk of hip fracture. 

Don’t skimp on the lemon slices. They bring an addicting brightness that totally wakes up the taste buds. So refreshing! And fret not about using unpeeled lemon. The highest concentration of vitamin C is found in a lemon’s skin, a plus for alkalizing the diet, and working to keep bone density at a healthy level, especially in the hip and lumbar spine area. Parsley adds even more bone protection by bringing in Vitamin K (those of us with a low Vitamin K intake may be more prone to developing osteoporosis and may be more at risk for hip fracture). The flavorful addition of chickpeas (protein,Vitamin K, calcium, copper, manganese), fennel (calcium, magnesium, vitamin C), artichokes (calcium, vitamin K, magnesium, potassium) and tomatoes (vitamin C) reinforces bone support as well, making for one heck of a tasty, substantial sandwich!


1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 baguette, whole grain, or your favorite kind

¼ cup EVOO flavored with 1-2 sprigs fresh, chopped rosemary and black pepper to taste

1 cup flat parsley, leaves washed 

2 large lemons, one thinly sliced (de-seed as you slice), the other juiced

1 cup finely diced fennel

12  cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half 

12-14 artichoke heart quarters (either thawed from frozen or canned and drained)

1 can sardines, whole with skin and bones

Place chickpeas in a bowl. Using a potato masher (or your hands), lightly mash them to lessen their roundness—they’ll stay put a little better that way. Assemble herbed oil and prepped sandwich fixings near you. 

Slice open the baguette lengthwise and pull out the bready insides. (Reserve them for another use, such as bread crumbs, croutons or to thicken soups.) Unroll a sheet of plastic wrap on your counter a little longer than the length of the bread and place the bottom piece of the baguette on the wrap. 

Spoon some herbed oil down the length of the bread. Layer each ingredient, starting with parsley, then lemon, then chickpeas, fennel, tomatoes, and artichokes, ending with the sardines on top. When finished, drizzle with more herbed oil, then the lemon juice. 

Close sandwich with the top piece of bread, pull up the sides of the plastic, and tightly wrap, enclosing all the stray fillings. Secure with another layer of wrap if needed, to seal it up tightly. 

Set the sandwich in the fridge between two sheet trays. Weight the top with your kitchen staples—I like cans placed in heavy pans, but you can use bags of rice, a stack of skillets, or whatever heavy things are sitting in your kitchen (or your workshop—perhaps a couple of bricks).  Leave overnight to rest. Enjoy the next day at room temperature.

Credits: Creative Director/Prop Styling, Francine Matalon-Degni; Photographer, Julie Benedetto; Food Stylist/Recipe Developer, Leslie Orlandini; Editor, Sarah Marie Degni; Logo Designer, Zoe Miolla









Francine Matalon-Degni

Francine has an impressive editorial and commercial client list in print and motion mediums, with an emphasis on, but not limited to propping for food photography. She is based in New York City. 

http://www.francinematalon-degni.com
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