Making picnic food is always great fun but this dish is a real belter, a mediterranean style meal in a loaf you can just slice and serve.
Ingredients
- 1 large cottage loaf
- 4-6 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 1 medium courgette, sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic, finely crushed
- 150g jarred roasted red and yellow peppers
- jar red pesto
- 2 beef tomatoes, sliced, not too thinly
- 4 large Buffalo Mozzarella
Method
- Pre heated oven 200°C gas 6.
- Heat the olive oil and add the courgette slices, sauté to take a little colour.
- At the end sauté the garlic briefly and add to the courgettes.
- Slice the mozzarella into 4 thick slices.
- Cut the loaf into 5 slices horizontally.
- Lay each slice onto a chopping board.
- Spoon over the olive oil evenly on the sliced bread, then season each slice with salt and pepper.
- On the large base slice of bread, lay the half the peppers and tomatoes, spread over a little pesto.
- Lay the next slice of bread on top, press down and then lay over the courgettes, and half the mozzarella then add a little more pesto.
- Lay the next slice of bread on top and add the rest of the tomatoes and peppers, spread over a little more pesto.
- Top with the next slice of bread.
- Finally add the rest of the courgettes and mozzarella and last lot of pesto.
- Top with the final crust.
- Place the loaf onto a very large piece of foil and wrap the loaf totally.
- Wrap in a second large piece of foil and squeeze nice and tightly.
- Place onto a baking tray and pop into the oven.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes.
- Once cooked remove from the oven and press nice and tightly again, be quite brutal here, the more you press the better the chilled loaf will cut the next day.
- Cool and chill well, best overnight.
- Next day, remove from the fridge and take on your picnic.
- Open and slice to order, its a easy as that.