Upscale Cuban Sandwich Recipe

The traditional Cuban sandwich is a favorite in South Florida, but this upscaled version will knock your socks off! It uses artisan bread (from the bakery is fine), rosemary sun-dried tomato ham, and brie cheese. Fancy and tasty enough for dinner.

It is said that the Cuban sandwich most likely originated in Key West or Tampa, catering to the Cuban cigar workers in those communities. Cuban ex-pats and exiles brought it to the Miami area. In 2012, the Tampa City Council designated the “Historic Tampa Cuban Sandwich” as the “signature sandwich of the city of Tampa”, a gentle dig at the rivalry with Miami over the sandwich’s origin. Traditional ingredients are ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard. The Tampa version adds salami, a hat tip to its large Italian constituency.

1/4 cup (about) butter, at room temperature
8 slices fresh white artisan bread, sliced 1-inch thick
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons dill pickle relish
1/4 pound thin-sliced deli roast pork
1/2 pound thin-sliced deli rosemary sun-dried tomato ham
1 (about 14 ounces) wheel of brie cheese, sliced into 1/4-inch thick strips across the diameter
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

Spread one side of each slice of bread with the butter. Place 4 slices, buttered-side down, on a cutting board to build the Cuban panini sandwich. Spread unbuttered sides with mayonnaise, and spread with sweet pickle relish.

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Pile roast pork, then ham on top of the relish. Top with brie. Spread Dijon mustard on the unbuttered sides of the remaining 4 slices of bread and place on top of brie. You should have 4 sandwiches with buttered tops and bottoms.

Preheat panini grill, griddle, or cast iron skillet. When hot, place sandwiches on panini grill and cook until golden brown on each side. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve.

Yield: 4 servings