Italian Pear & Mortadella Oven Sandwiches

Ribbon-thin slices of Italian mortadella with fresh ricotta, mustard mayonnaise and sweet juicy pear makes and interesting and delicious European style sandwich!

Yield 2 sandwiches

Italian Pear & Mortadella Oven Sandwiches

This sandwich has everything. Absolutely everything you never even knew you wanted in a sandwich: sweet, salty, crunchy, gooey, heavenly. Okay, so that last one isn't really an edible thing, but it's important. Don't judge this crazy concoction by it's contents. I know on the surface it seems a bit strange to put pickles, pears, cheese and deli-shaved cold cuts into a sandwich, but believe me guys, it works. My husband even said this was one of the best sandwiches he's had in a long time.


And he's a staunch pickle hater. I'm not sure this sandwich completely turned him into a pickle convert (I'm not even sure he ate them, now that I think about it, because he took it to work with him). Pickle lover or loather, there's so much more going on between bread that deserves your attention!

So this European-style sandwich is made from authentic Italian ingredients from Nifeislife. They ship Italian groceries imported from Italy all over the UK and they're amazing! I'd been wanting to try mortadella for ages, but could never get my hands on any here. Mortadella is like really thinly shaved slices of meat, but it has pistachio and black pepper in it. It's what the American sandwich meat bologna is based on, except authentic mortadella is much more thin and elegant. In fact, this sandwich is nothing more than gourmet bologna and cheese sandwich.

Sandwiches in Europe (on the continent) often are a bit more convoluted than the American or British counterparts. Sandwich making in Europe is an art form: layers and layers of intricate ingredients that should be overpowering but somehow work together harmoniously. It's one of my favorite things about going to continental Europe. I had a few of these intricate sandwiches in France and some in Italy and Amsterdam and they all inspired this one.

If you're after more pork recipes, follow this board:

Ingredients:

For the oven sandwiches
1 tsp French mustard, preferably, but any mustard will do
1 pear, sliced thinly
2 tbsp mayonnaise
100g mortadella or bologna
mozzarella, shredded
ricotta
dill pickles
black pepper
bread

Instructions:

Italian Pear & Mortadella Oven Sandwiches

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.
2. Combine the mustard and the mayonnaise until smooth to make mustard mayonnaise.
3. Spread a thin layer of mustard mayo on the bottom slice of bread, followed by a layer of ricotta cheese.
4. Sprinkle the ricotta liberally with black pepper followed by slices of pear.
5. Top with ribbons of mortadella.
6. Place the other piece of bread on top of the mortadella and scatter mozzarella cheese over top.
7. Bake in the oven 7 to 10 minutes or until the sandwiches are warmed throughout and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
8. Serve each sandwich with pickles and potato chips/crisps.

Gotta have Italian grub? Try these:

Authentic Spaghetti Carbonara with Guanciale

Homemade Linguine with Zesty Tomato Pasta Sauce

Fail-proof Pizza Dough