THE BEST CAPRESE SANDWICH WITH PESTO AIOLI

Notes:

Once you have the right bread, my pesto aioli, and a handful of simple but high quality ingredients listed below you’re set. I highly recommend the rosemary sea salt focaccia posted on the blog (or plain focaccia). It has the most appropriate texture and taste in combination with the other delicate ingredients. Also, I highly recommend adding arugula (and even better micro arugula).

A Caprese sandwich is a wonderful example of a handful of ingredients coming together to make something endlessly cravable. All ingredients must be high quality, but the bread and pesto aioli really make this.

Ingredients:

Fresh basil: 1 and 1/2 cups or ~2.5 oz

Mayonnaise: 1 cup

Salt (I used pink Himalayan salt): 1/2 tsp

Freshly ground black pepper: 1/2 tsp or to taste

Roasted garlic cloves : 6 roasted cloves (if you don’t want to roast the garlic just use 2 fresh cloves since they are more pungent)

Ripe tomatoes: 1/2 to 3/4 of a medium tomato per sandwich

Fresh mozzarella: ~ 1 medium ball per sandwich

Arugula: optional but highly recommend micro arugula

Dense balsamic vinegar: Use a balsamic with a density of at least 1.30

Extra virgin olive oil

Flaky sea salt to finish

Directions:

1. For the pesto aioli throw fresh basil, mayo, salt, pepper, and roasted garlic in a food processor and pulse until you have a rich, creamy, thick green pesto aioli. You can save for the rest for several days in the fridge and use on other sandwiches or as a dip.

2. Slice ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella (slightly less than 1 cm thick works well) in an amount depending on how many sandwiches you’re going to make. My ~8 inch sandwich took almost an entire ball of fresh mozzarella and most of a medium size tomato.

3. Slice and toast your focaccia until lightly golden on the inside.

4. Pour the dense balsamic vinegar and EVOO on the bottom half of the bread to taste.

5. If using micro (or regular) arugula layer it on next, followed by the mozzarella slices, then tomato slices.

6. Sprinkle the tomato slices with a flaky sea salt.

7. Smear the pesto aioili on the inside of the upper piece of bread and top off your sandwich.

I could eat this sandwich everyday, just need to make more focaccia!