Whimpy's Turkey Sandwich

I was cutting this mammoth sandwich in half to plate it when my husband said, "what's the name of that guy on Popeye? Whimpy. It looks kind of like Whimpy's burger!"

I should have put a fork on the plate to show you how big it really is...those tomato slices are Better Boy hamburger sized slices, next to thinly sliced zucchini (the larger end of a foot long vegetable). I hope that gives you some perspective. I can't go back to shoot another photo because I ate it. I wanted to jump up and down, it was so good! How did I eat this giant thing? I took alternating bites, top...bottom...top...bottom. It was heavenly with the freshly baked, super thin crisp crust and chewy layers of remaining bread.

I tweaked a recipe from this month's Everyday Food – one of my favorite things that sparks inspiration. There are plenty of great ideas for summer meals, and today's meal was a perfect way to use our produce from this morning's visit to the farmers market on the square.

Whimpy's Turkey Sandwich


Make a one pound peasant roll from the master boule (or buy a good round artisan loaf). After slicing it in half (like a hamburger bun), carve out a nest in the top and bottom of the roll. Spread a nice spicy or brown mustard in the bottom nest. You can do the same in the top nest but I used a bit of truffle paste (the original recipe calls for olive tapenade).


Layer in your turkey meat (I used the Natural Choice Cracked Black Pepper Turkey). Layer thinly sliced zucchini and tomatoes on top of meat. Nestle some Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar in the top of the bun and carefully put the sandwich together. 


Wrap it up tightly in foil and put it in the oven at 450º for about 10 minutes (or 350º for around 25 min). Slice it up and serve with homemade pickles!

If you get this Everyday Food issue you'll see that I replaced a few of the ingredients with my own, which worked perfectly. The cheese option (which is lactose free because it's made correctly) went perfectly with the truffle paste. The mustard and peppered turkey worked nicely with the creaminess of the vegetables and cheese.