Tomato-Provolone Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo

I'm in a soup and sandwich kind of mood. It's been snowing for days here and these toasted Tomato-Provolone Sandwiches were the perfect pair with this Rustic Tortellini Soup for a healthy and hearty dinner following an afternoon of shovelling the driveway and pulling my kiddos over the drifts in their sled. The warm air of the house warmed my bright pink, frosty cheeks as I breathed in the smell of this soup simmering on the stove. Not only is this soup delicious with it's cheese tortellini swimming in rich broth, it's good for you too. Low in fat, packed with vitamins and antioxidants (lycopene from the tomatoes) and phytovitamins (from the spinach), you can't go wrong with Rustic Tortellini Soup. Added bonus: the kick from the red pepper flakes will really clear out your sinuses. Click HERE for the recipe.



While I'm bragging about the soup, I don't want to short change the wonderful sandwiches that accompanied it. These sandwiches came together in minutes and the flavors and textures of the toasty bread, provolone, pesto, mayonnaise, arugula, and tomato made for a mouth-watering combination. So simple, yet so good!



To make the sandwiches, arrange slices of bread on a baking sheet and broil for 2 minutes or until toasted. I used thinly sliced Italian bread, from my grocery store bakery. The original recipe, found in Cooking Light magazine, suggests using sourdough.



Now remove half of the bread slices to a plate and then put a slice of provolone on the remaining four pieces of bread. Put the bread back under the broiler for another minute or so until the cheese is bubbly.



Prepared pesto is a bit pricey, however at this time of year, the price of purchasing enough basil to make pesto is just as expensive. You can check out my homemade pesto HERE. But for these sammies, store bought is the way to go! Mix a couple of tablespoons of pesto with 3 tablespoons of light mayo and then spread a couple of teaspoons of the pesto-mayo mixture over each slice of cheesy bread.



Top each of the 4 slices with 1/4 cup of arugula.



Now slice some tomatoes. This picture is here for no other purpose than to brag about my new Santoku knife again. I don't even have words for how much I enjoy using this knife. It's like a magic knife...cutting through these tomatoes was kind of like cutting through butter...but with much more precision.



Okay, I'm finished gloating. Back to sandwich assembly. Arrange tomatoes over the arugula, then sprinkle with a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.



Now spread the remaining mayo-pesto mixture over the remaining bread slices and top the sandwiches.



Enjoy!



Tomato-Provolone Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo adapted from Cooking Light September 2009

3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons refrigerated pesto
8 (1 1/2-ounce)sourdough or Italian bread
4 (1/2-ounce) slices provolone cheese
1 cup arugula leaves
8 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine mayonnaise and pesto in a bowl, stirring well.

3. Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil bread 2 minutes or until toasted. Turn bread over; place 1 cheese slice on each of 4 bread slices. Broil 1 minute or until cheese is bubbly. Spread about 2 teaspoons pesto mixture over each cheese-topped bread slice. Arrange 1/4 cup arugula and 2 tomato slices over pesto mixture; sprinkle tomato slices evenly with pepper and salt. Spread about 1 1/2 teaspoons of remaining pesto mixture evenly over one side of each remaining bread slice; place 1 slice, pesto-side down, on top of each sandwich.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

CALORIES 329 ; FAT 16.7g (sat 3.4g,mono 5.8g,poly 6.3g); CHOLESTEROL 16mg; CALCIUM 194mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.7g; SODIUM 630mg; PROTEIN 11g; FIBER 2.9g; IRON 3.3mg