Sandwich Cubanos by Maik

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 ciabatta, for baking
• 600 g pork fillet(s)
• 8 slice(s) ham, cooked
• 4 slices of cheese (Gouda)
• 24 slice(s) of gherkin(s)
• 60 g herb butter
• some sauce (honey mustard or mayo and mustard)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp herbs de Provence

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes

grilled sandwich with pork fillet, ham and cheese

Preheat oven to 130°C (265°F) top/bottom heat. Brush the pork fillet with a marinade made from 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp Provençal herbs, then sear in a grill pan for 1 minute on each of the 6 sides. Place on a large plate on the middle rack of the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 80°C (176°F). Roast the pork fillet for 1.5 hours, until it is still slightly pink and super juicy. Cut the pork fillet into slices about 1 cm thick. Bake the ciabatta bread for about 2 minutes less than indicated on the packaging. Cut the herb butter into slices and place on the bottom half of the bread, followed by the cooked ham. Spread the pork fillet generously on the cooked ham, top with the cheese, followed by the gherkins. Spread the honey mustard sauce on the top half of the bread and fold the whole thing together. Now the entire sandwich is cut in half (I only made half in the following pictures). Put a grill pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil on a medium heat. When the oil is hot, put half a sandwich (more won’t fit anyway) in the pan, put aluminum foil on top and then weigh the whole thing down with another pan so that the sandwich is compressed to about a third of its original thickness. I weigh down the top pan with some cans I have around the house so that it is nicely compressed. Fry half the sandwich for 2 minutes, turn the sandwich over and fry on the other side for 2 minutes – it’s done when the cheese is nicely melted. When the sandwich is done, cut it diagonally and enjoy. Repeat with the other half or wrap it in aluminum foil and fry it the next day if you are only two people like us.