Favorite Sandwich

I am at my least resolute when shopping at Costco. Not an original creation, this sandwich came to my attention as a result of an impulse purchase.

Anyway, there were several psychological factors at work- not the least of which was the relative rarity of opportunity. It is a tricky business to shop at Costco without a car, unless you live next door to The Mall, which I don't. There is a bus, but the return trip, including a walk down one steep, bumpy hill and up another, is on the grueling side. It is especially awkward with arms full of warehouse-sized food units.

So, when I am offered a ride, I always feel I should make the most of it. And I generally wind up staggering in my front door, festooned with flowers, pine nuts, bags of fabulous avocados, and one or two things that just sort of flung themselves into my cart while I wasn't paying attention. Or so it seems.

Most recently I found myself the baffled owner of a huge, heavy glass jar of marinated artichoke "hearts"- a laughable bargain. I'm not even really sure I like jarred, marinated artichokes; they are both oily and acidic, not necessarily in the nicest way. I was actually feeling a little frantic about my mistake, and looked in several cookbooks for ideas.

This one, from the yellow, Ruth Reichl Gourmet cookbook, is a jewel. It is currently my favorite untoasted sandwich, even more fabulous than roast pork and arugula with cranberry chutney on a crusty roll. Which is saying something. The weird artichokes work just fine here.

I have been taking this one to work, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap...it gets a tad soggier than perfection , waiting in the lunch room fridge, but it is still wonderful.
This is how you make four. (I usually make 2. Pictured is a double, made on a dubious mini tuscan loaf from the Giant Eagle. It is good enough to jazz up some pretty flabby bread.):

1/2 cup brine-cured black olives, rinsed, drained, and pitted
2 teaspoons drained capers
1 small garlic clove, chopped
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
2 (6 1/2-ounce) jars marinated artichokes, drained, reserving marinade, and chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 (6-ounce) cans tuna in olive oil, drained and any large chunks broken into smaller pieces
4 (7-inch-long) ciabatta rolls or other crusty rolls with soft, chewy crumb- or two mini loaves of crusty bread
3/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Blend olives, capers, garlic, zest, and 3 tablespoons artichoke marinade in a blender or food processor, until as smooth as possible. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in mayonnaise. Stir together artichokes and tuna in another bowl.

Split each roll horizontally and remove inner crumb from top half. Spread olive mayonnaise on cut sides of rolls and make sandwiches with tuna and artichokes, seasoning filling with pepper and topping with parsley.

I can see myself eating a lot of these, but not so many as to use up all those artichoke hearts. Any ideas on that?

Comments

[Vicki]

Make a dip to serve with chips/crackers. I usually rinse my chokes first, then mix in some mayo, shredded mozz, grated parm, minced garlic, and some kind of spicy. Bake until bubbly.

[anapestic]

I chop them up and add them to tuna salad. They're also very tasty on a pizza. Then again, I have been known to eat them just as they are. The acidic oiliness (or the oily acidity) doesn't bother me.

I have fallen prey to the giant jar of artichokes on more than one occasion. The jars are very useful after you've eaten your way through the artichokes.

[Lynn D.]

When I saw the photo and read the first sentence, I thought the sandwich was from the Costco food court which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. But of course it is something delicious you made yourself. I know what you mean about the acidic oiliness and I think it's from the soybean oil. I think the sandwich could be varied slightly by subbing eggs or white beans for the tuna. I like artichoke hearts with potatoes and a potato salad or gratin might be a possibility. (I also like to use stale bread for sandwiches which are made ahead of time.) And the pork sandwich sounds great.

[thecatskillkiwi]

being a big fan of sandwiches, bread and toast in general i will be trying these.

[Dr Alice]

This sounds really delicious. What to do with the rest of the artichokes? Chop them up and put them on pasta, perhaps. Acutally this entire sandwich filling might go well on pasta.

Mark Bittman's blog recently featured a recipe for artichoke pesto (it was included in the homemade pizza article a week or two ago). You might try that.

[brainpuddl3]

A - pizza!! I top pizzas with quartered artichoke hearts, black olives and rings of red bell pepper

B - spaghetti, quartered artichoke hearts and chunks of swordfish tossed with extra-garlicky olive oil

Now I'm getting hungry....

[rubychard]

totally unrelated, but i thought you might know: is there a way to get into the hungry tiger site? i wanted to look up a recipe there the other day, and it was nowhere to be found. (why, i guess, cookbooks win over the internets.) anyway, if it's moved, i would be curious to know where.

[Kristi]

I love this sandwich! I had it at a friend's house recently. She lives in Plano now but used to live in Pittsburgh -- you must know each other. I am so glad to have the recipe here.

So glad to find your site. Everything looks wonderful and you write so beautifully. Thank you. blessings, Kristi

[Barbara]

This sandwich! wow its great. Thanks for sharing the recipe