Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Pressed Broccoli Rabe and Mozzarella Sandwiches

5.0

(1)

Image may contain Burger Food Plant Vegetable and Spinach
Photo by David Loftus

I love these sandwiches. They’re a vegetarian cross between a New Orleans–style muffuletta (hey olive salad!) and a Philadelphia-style pork and broccoli rabe sandwich. They’re also inspired by a passage I once read about how legendary food writer M. F. K. Fisher made a guest sit on a wrapped sandwich while they chatted so it would be perfectly pressed in time for lunch. Ha! When these sandwiches are pressed, the olive and caper mixture soaks into the bread and the cheese and garlicky broccoli rabe become really good friends. The broccoli rabe can also be served as a side dish with the olive mixture spooned on top (or you can mix the lot with cooked pasta and call it dinner). If you can’t find or don’t like broccoli rabe, substitute regular broccoli or any dark, leafy green such as kale.

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Smothered Italian Sausage
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Smothered Italian Sausage
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Tortellini in Preserved Lemon Brodo
A quick-fix dinner thanks to store-bought tortellini and chicken broth.
Halloumi Lasagna
In this lasagna, soft layers of pasta and béchamel are interspersed with a rich tomato sauce laden with hearty Mediterranean vegetables.
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Brussels Sprouts Latkes
Who says latkes have to be potato? Brussels bring a delicious cruciferousness.
Sofrito Bolognese
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
Almost Cannoli Galettes
Cannoli and sfogliatelle require complex technique—making them is best left to the professionals. But a galette-inspired variation? That’s a snap to do at home.