40 SAVEUR.COM
BURR ATA AND
MARINATED CHERRY
TOMATO SANDWICHES
Adapted from Casa del Vino
Serves 4
Active: 10 min. • Total: 8 hr. 10 min.
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin
olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. capers
10 oil-packed anchovy fillets, minced
(2 Tbsp.)
Crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
One 8-oz. ball burrata
4 small crusty sandwich rolls- In a large bowl, add the toma-
toes, oil, vinegar, capers, anchovies,
a pinch crushed red pepper, and a
generous pinch each salt and black
pepper. Stir well to combine. Cover
with plastic wrap and let rest on the
countertop or in the refrigerator
8 hours or up to overnight. - When ready to serve, let the tomato
mixture come to room temperature.
Divide the burrata between the sand-
wich rolls and top each with some of
the tomato mixture (stir briefly before
spooning it on). Season with salt, pep-
per, or more crushed red pepper to
taste, and serve.
PORCHETTA SANDWICHES
WITH MARINATED
ONIONS AND SALSA VERDE
Adapted from Casa del Vino
Serves 10
Active: 50 min. • Total: 4 hr.
(plus overnight resting)
For the porchetta sandwiches:
One 6-lb. porchetta (boneless pork
loin encased in a piece of skin-on
pork belly)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. fennel seeds
1 Tbsp. fennel pollen
⅓ cup finely chopped fennel fronds
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh Italian
parsley
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh sage
¼ cup finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup white wine (optional)
Hearty sandwich rolls, for serving
For the marinated onions:
2 medium red onions, halved and
thinly sliced (3 cups)
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
For the salsa verde:
1 cup coarse dried bread crumbs2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 cup Italian parsley, minced
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. capers, minced
12 anchovy fillets in oil, minced
2 hard-boiled eggs, minced (optional)
1 small head garlic, minced (about
⅓ cup)- Prepare the porchetta: On a
rimmed baking sheet, lay the pork
belly skin side up and rub the skin
side generously with salt. Refriger-
ate uncovered at least 12 hours or
ideally 24 hours. - Meanwhile, in a small skillet over
medium heat, add the fennel seeds.
Cook, stirring or shaking the pan
occasionally, until lightly toasted and
fragrant, 4–5 minutes. Remove and
coarsely grind. - Set a rack in the center of the oven
and preheat to 300°. Retrieve the
pork belly and place skin side down on
a clean work surface. Rub the inside
all over with salt and pepper, then
with the fennel seeds, fennel pol-
len, fennel fronds, parsley, sage, and
rosemary. Baste or rub the loin with
the white wine if using. Wrap the sea-
soned pork belly firmly around the loin
to cover completely, then tie the por-
chetta tightly every 2–3 inches with
florence is filled with as many his-
torical monuments and decorative artifacts
as it is hole-in-the-wall hawkers of fluffy,
dimpled schiacciata bread stuffed with the
world’s finest cold cuts.
You can’t come here and not try the
salami with garlicky pecorino cheese and
fennel spread at All’antico Vinaio, a tiny
walk-up shop with a massive line and a lively
crew of sandwich slingers. The same applies
to their lardo di colonnata with crema di
tartufo. Or the prosciutto crudo with arti-
choke spread and red peppers at Pan Briaco.
(As one waiting regular put it: “Why mess
with perfezione?”) And then there’s the
marinated beef carpaccio with porcini
and pecorino on a homemade focaccia roll
at Mariano, prepared by the eponymous
Mariano Orizi, a Henry Miller lookalike in
Le Corbusier glasses and a sweater vest.
At Casa del Vino, an ancient enoteca lined
with a standing bar and wooden shelves
packed with wine, timeless sandwich com-
binations abound: crisp, drippy porchetta
topped with salsa verde and red onions;
soft burrata and ripe tomatoes; salty, sleek
anchovies with a pat of butter whose sum is
certainly greater than its simple parts.
Schiacciata worship is common here,
but there is no better altar at which to
pray than Semel, across the street from
the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio. As the
wall-mounted antlers indicate, the theme
here is hunter’s food. The owner is Marco8
Florence is a city
of sandwiches
at L’Oriuolo. Or, from the Pitti Palace, stroll
around the corner for fiocchetti—a purselike
pasta—with Taleggio and pears at 4 Leoni,
a 14th-century trattoria with a patio that
spills onto the storied Piazza della Passera.4 P.M. The liminal hours of Florence are
meant to be filled with gelato, and the clas-
sic shops continue to please. For scoops of
creamy chocolate or pistachio, stop into La
Carraia. For a classic atmosphere, Vivoli’s
old-school décor—worn tiled f loors and
vaulted wooden ceilings—still charms.7 P.M. Yes, Perseus and Trattoria Sos-
tanza make famous bistecca alla fiorentina.
But you’d be remiss to bypass the humbler
al chianti ( beef braised in chianti) or f lank
steak tagliata topped with arugula and
pecorino at La Casalinga.