Y’all won’t believe how good these are!
I’ve been working super hard to finish my next cookbook on time. It will be out this fall. I’m still auditioning titles, but the topic is everyday cooking for one or two people. There are lots of resources out there for scaled-down recipes of course, but this cookbook is a little different. This book gives readers a few simple strategies for running a small household kitchen without having a lot of waste or a lot of leftovers. And that’s in addition to a whole bunch of recipes small households are going to love.
Italian Chicken Sandwiches were born when I was working on new recipes using rotisserie chicken that weren’t just another boring casserole. Obviously not all chicken casseroles are boring, but I needed something totally new and interesting. Well let me tell you, I ended up thrilled that I’d made two of these sandwiches during testing. I got to eat them both! (Not at the same time, of course.)
A week after I first made them, I made the filling again and put it into wraps for Princess Persnickety and her beau. I was out of provolone, so I used crumbled feta instead. Those were a hit, too. SCORE!
Italian Chicken Sandwiches are deceptively simple. Shredded chicken is tossed with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, grated parm, and the jarred giardiniera available on grocery store pickle aisles everywhere. A nice po’boy/hoagie/sub roll, a bit of melted provolone, and maybe a pepperoncini or two complete the picture. How easy is that? And as good as all that sounds, the finished sandwich is deliciously more than the sum of it’s parts.
Like many Mediterranean sandwiches, Italian Chicken Sandwiches are really good eaten as soon as they’re prepared, but may even benefit from some time in the fridge. Fridge time allows the flavors to meld and deepen. I wrap mine tightly with plastic wrap and toss them in the refrigerator. They travel like a champ to school, to work, in a cooler, or just to the kitchen table. I think Italian Chicken Sandwiches are just perfect eaten cold or at room temperature, but I can see where eating them hot or warm would be appealing, too. It’s totally up to you.
Okay, that’s all I’ve got for today. Ciao!
Italian Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 T. red wine vinegar
- ¾ t. Italian seasoning
- ½ cup giardiniera
- roughly chopped
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 2 pepperoncini peppers
- sliced optional
- 2 French or Italian
- sandwich-sized rolls
- or hoagie rolls
- 4 slices provolone
- mozzarella or a
- handful of shredded
- Italian cheese
Instructions
- Put shredded chicken in a mixing bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss to distribute seasoning. Add olive oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, giardiniera, and parmesan. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Cut the rolls open, leaving a hinge. Open slightly and arrange the cheese over the cut “valley”. Bake until the cheese is melted and the roll is beginning to crisp.
- Divide the chicken filling between the rolls. Serve immediately or wrap and store in the fridge until needed.
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