DIY Gourmet Sandwich

Inspired by the “Bangin’ Blueberry” pesto (Pestos with Panache by Lauren) that I picked up at the SoWa market, I made a sandwich from one of their recipes for dinner. Living in the North End, picking up ingredients isn’t exactly convenient. I took my bike out, and started filling my basket with a baguette, a few slices of fresh asiago cheese and 1/8 pound of pancetta from Monica’s Trattoria on Salem St. I ran over to Going Bananas down the street to pick up some arugula before heading home with my supplies.

Although the recipe calls for a Panini maker, who really has one of those? I preheated my toaster oven, and waited a long 5 minutes until the bread looked perfectly toasted, with bits of sizzling asiago cheese seeping out from the edges. Before putting my dinner on a plate and bringing it to the table, as any chef, I had to take a bite to make sure the ingredients combined properly. The sweet, but tart blueberry pesto perfectly coupled with the bitterness of the arugula and the saltiness of the pancetta. The asiago cheese added sophistication to this incredibly easy-to-make sandwich. I recommend getting a fresh loaf of bread because the bread can make or break a sandwich. The pesto actually comes in five other flavors: fabulous fig and gorgonzola, decadent dark chocolate and ancho chile, pumpkin chipotle, prosciutto and smoked almond, and succulent strawberry. Although a huge fig fan, the blueberry pesto was by far my favorite. With a slight tart flavor, the blueberry pesto makes an excellent condiment not only for sandwiches, but also for pasta, pancakes and pizza!