Even More Sandwich Ideas!
Roasted Vegetable and Sopressa Salami Focaccia
This roasted vegetable and sopressa salami focaccia sandwich is my idea of a perfect lunch. I layer garlicky roasted veg, thin slices of spicy sopressa, and a slice of provolone between fluffy, golden focaccia. It’s salty, juicy, full of texture, and completely satisfying. Ideal for picnics, work lunches, or weekend treats, it’s the kind of sandwich that makes you pause and savour every bite. Honestly, it’s messy - but worth it.
Ingredients
- 1 focaccia, sliced in half
- Salted butter
- 1 slice provolone cheese
- 2 slices Sopressa salami
- Grilled eggplant
- Sundried tomatoes
- Roasted red peppers
- Kalamata olives, sliced
Instructions
- Lightly toast the inside of the focaccia, and then lightly butter.
- Next, layer the cheese, salami, eggplant, sundried tomatoes, red pepper and olives. Top with the top half of the focaccia.
- Preheat your sandwich or panini press and carefully transfer the bagel to the hot plate.
- Close, and cook through until the cheese is melted and the focaccia is lightly toasted.
- Serve hot.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 529Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 1840mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 18g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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Roasted Mediterranean Veg with Sopressa Salami Focaccia
The Wee Cafe Back in Livo
The Roasted Vegetable with Sopressa Salami Focaccia sandwich is a trip down memory lane, straight back to those days spent wandering around Spotlight with my mum. She was a sewing MACHINE, and I adored choosing fabrics and patterns with her. I always loved the fact she’d always support whatever wild fashion idea I came up with.
Every month like clockwork, we’d head off to the massive Spotlight store in Liverpool, hunting for bits and bobs for her latest home decor masterpiece or one of my dodgy teen fashion experiments. Once we’d finished browsing (and inevitably buying more than we needed), we’d make our way to the small cafe perched by the escalators.
It wasn’t anything fancy, in fact, you couldn’t even sit inside. It was more of a takeaway counter with a few wobbly tables out front. But they did the most incredible toasted focaccias. Every single time, we’d order the same thing – salami, provolone, roasted capsicum, grilled eggplant, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes, all crammed into warm, crusty focaccia. Occasionally we’d add baba ghanoush, because obviously. The combination of flavours was pure Mediterranean magic. Even now, two decades later, I can still taste that sandwich. I might not live in Liverpool anymore, but I’ve brought the memory with me, and every now and again, I bring it to life in my own kitchen, toasting up a gluten-free version and letting nostalgia do the rest.
The Surprise Salami Focaccia
I went to visit Mum recently. She’s been going through a rough time since Dad fell ill, so I wanted to bring her something special. I brewed her a proper cup of tea, got her settled, and told her I was making lunch. And just like that, I recreated our old favourite – the Roasted Vegetable with Sopressa Salami Focaccia. Watching her take that first bite was like witnessing time fold in on itself. Her face lit up, and I could tell she was remembering those same moments I was. It’s funny how food has that power, because it’s never just about taste, it’s about time travel, connection, and comfort.
Growing up in Liverpool gave me the best kind of food education. It wasn’t about posh ingredients or anything remotely bougie. It was about flavour, culture, and curiosity. Within just a few blocks, I could try Chinese dumplings, Vietnamese rolls, Turkish gozleme, and Italian pastries. In Livo, it’s completely normal to be surrounded by that level of diversity, and I think it shaped my cooking more than anything else. When I moved to Brisbane, it was a massive of a culture shock to realise how different things were. It was harder to find the same breadth of flavours, and you definitely had to work a bit harder to source specialty ingredients. But thankfully, things have changed a lot since then.
These days, whether I’m shopping at my local supermarket or strolling through a market, I can find almost everything I need to recreate my favourite dishes. That focaccia sandwich, for instance, is no longer something I miss – it’s something I make. And it still tastes just as good, even if the backdrop has changed from the Spotlight escalators to my own kitchen bench.
Gluten-Free Sandwiches
Being diagnosed with coeliac disease was a real blow to my sandwich-loving soul. For years, I avoided bread altogether because the gluten-free alternatives were honestly awful. They were dense, dry, far too sweet, and they made me feel like I was missing out on something very basic – a decent sandwich. But the gluten-free landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, and now I can confidently say that sandwiches are back on the menu. With options like croissants, Turkish bread, focaccia, and panini now available in gluten-free varieties, I don’t feel like I’m compromising anymore.
I tend to stock up from both Coles and Woolworths, and I have a few favourites I swear by. The Turkish bread and panini from Coles are beautifully textured and toast up a dream. Woolworths has some solid options too – their gluten-free bagels are particularly good. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive, but I’m no longer throwing out half a loaf because it tastes like cardboard. Instead, I get to enjoy sandwiches that actually satisfy the craving, like this Roasted Vegetable with Sopressa Salami Focaccia.
So if you’re coeliac or gluten-intolerant and you’ve been steering clear of sandwiches, it might be time to dip your toe back in. Things have come a long way. And honestly, having a go-to sandwich like this one makes weekday lunches feel a little bit indulgent, a little bit nostalgic, and totally worth it.
Ingredients Breakdown
The beauty of this sandwich lies in its balance of salt, sweetness, and richness. Sopressa salami brings the depth and savoury punch you want in a cured meat, with just enough fat to melt slightly against the warm bread. Provolone cheese is mild but gooey, and works perfectly with the tang of sundried tomatoes and the soft richness of grilled eggplant. Roasted red peppers add a touch of sweetness, while sliced kalamata olives bring a satisfying salty bite. Every layer does something – nothing is in there just for show.
The focaccia acts as the sturdy, herby base for it all. Sliced in half and toasted with a good slather of salted butter, it becomes golden and crisp on the outside, while still soft and warm in the middle. The butter isn’t strictly necessary, but let’s be honest – it makes everything better. If you’re gluten-free, a good-quality GF focaccia is worth the hunt but it needs to be soft inside with a crisp crust that can handle the fillings without falling apart. You can make your own, of course, but there are some brilliant ready-made options available if you’re short on time.
You can always tweak the ingredients to suit what you’ve got on hand, but for me, this particular combo is the one that transports me straight back to Liverpool, with a little brown paper bag, a toasted sandwich, and my mum by my side. That’s the kind of food that stays with you.
