Italian Slider with Jam

Coppa, salami, and fontina cheese hard roll slider sweetened with strawberry jam.

When Kerry and I went to the Puglia region of Italy a couple of years ago, I noticed one thing about lunches. They were often very simple, but simply delicious too. Maybe it was because we weren’t in the big cities, as many of the areas of Puglia were quite bucolic. Like the countryside, lunches were relaxed.

Here in the America, we want our sandwiches and burgers piled high with everything imaginable. TV shows that feature favorite restaurants and best places to eat whatever, always tease us with sandwiches and burgers mounded so high, you need to unhinge your jaw to take a bite!

So thinking back to Italy, this hard roll slider is reminiscent of the pureness and simplicity of some of the lunches we enjoyed. This Italian Slider with Jam is made with a chunk of artisan baguette. It only has a few slices of coppa and salami, and one slice of cheese. But it’s enough! You get to savor each ingredient deliciously without any extraneous or unnecessary additions bombarding your taste buds. And the little smear of strawberry jam is just enough to make your mouth say, hmmm. I love the effortlessness of this slider.  It’s going to be a definite part of my next party buffet.

Hint: To keep them from drying out on your buffet, put them on a cake platter that has a dome lid.

• 1 loaf of artisan baguette
• Coppa, 2 slices per slider
• Salami, 2 slices per slider
• Fontina cheese (gruyere or havarti is good too)
• Strawberry jam

Slice the baguette into 3-inch pieces. Put two slices of coppa, two slices of salami, and one slice of cheese on the bottom half of the bread. Smear a small amount of jam on the top slice. Do not get heavy handed with the jam. In the photo above, there's quite a bit of jam just to illustrate that it's there. But it's way too much. It will over power the simplicity of this slider.

Of course, if jam is your thing, go for it. But try just a smear first. You'll be surprised that a smidge is just enough to off set the saltiness of the meats.

Option: It can be heated in the toaster oven for a few minutes, but personally, it tastes better not heated.