I came across a photo of an Italian sub the other day and I just can’t get it out of my mind. It has become a craving. I only know of two restaurants that serve a good sub and that’s Sicilian II and the Italian Terrace. Both are a good drive from my house, so the next best option is to make one myself.
The biggest problem in trying to put together a good Italian sub yourself is finding the right bread. Good Italian bread has a good, crunchy crust, and the bread is not overly soft, it’s a bit chewey. Henry’s Café and Bakery has pretty good bread, as does Le Bakery, but, surprisingly, Rouses bread is pretty good too. I think all of them have too much bread, so I slice them open and pinch some of the bread out, almost hollowing it out. The bread needs to be served warm, but not toasted crunchy, just a light toasting. Whether or not to butter the bread is always an option, but I prefer a drizzle of good olive oil.
The basic ingredients for a classic Italian sub seem to be lettuce, tomato, onions, a thin spread of mayo (homemade is best) pepperoni, capocollo, genoa and a good cheese, like provolone, fontina, mozzarella, provolone or taleggio, which is known as one of the better melting cheeses and is my favorite. I would also consider mortadella, but I’d give it a good sear first, I think it intensifies the flavor.
A good sub doesn’t have to have all of the ingredients of a classic sub, especially if you are on a budget. A good, but simple sub would be all the veggies, plus pepperoni, genoa salami, and the seared mortadella. Before adding the veggies, give the sub a good drizzle of good olive oil (one that has a distinct flavor, and pop in in the oven to warm just enough to melt the cheese.
A sub does need to have some heft to it, don’t use just a single slice of the meats and cheese, but pile it on as much as
you can afford.
