I’m not by any means a sandwich snob. I still eat peanut butter and jelly several times a week for lunch and I’m pretty sure will be perfectly content doing so forever. Similarly, Subway is my road trip staple (extra banana peppers please!). That being said, it’s fun to get a little fancier with sandwiches from time to time. The best thing about these is that they’re made ahead of time—making them a great grab ‘n go option or a perfect picnic food.
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Roast Beef, Red Pepper, Arugula, and Feta Sandwiches with Tahini Dressing
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Make-ahead picnic sandwiches with roast beef, a red pepper tapenade, arugula, and feta.
Ingredients
- 2 jarred roasted red peppers, drained & finely chopped
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped green onion
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) minced fresh basil
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 2 garlic clove, pressed (divided)
- 1/8 cup (30 ml) tahini
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- juice from 1 lemon
- salt, to taste
- 4 large ciabatta rolls, cut in half
- 4 oz (115 g) feta cheese
- 1 lb (450 g) thinly sliced roast beef
- 2 cups (480 ml) arugula
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the red peppers, green onion, basil, olive oil, cumin, hot sauce and 1 garlic clove, stirring to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the other garlic clove with the tahini, water, and lemon. Whisk until smooth and season to taste with salt.
- Evenly divide the red pepper mixture between each of the rolls, spreading on the bottom of each cut roll. Top with roast beef and feta. Drizzle with tahini dressing and cover with arugula. Place top bun on sandwich and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Unwrap sandwiches, cut in half, and serve.
Notes
- from Bon Appetit August 2003
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Sandwich
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 560
By letting them sit, the flavors have a chance to really soak into the bread and meld with one another. I wasn’t sure how the combo would fare—I’m used to cheddar and roast beef, not feta and roast beef—but I should’ve known better than to doubt the experts at Bon Appetit! I made a few swaps to the original recipe (arugula for spinach, basil for cilantro) and found I wouldn’t change a thing about this version! Of course, I think they’d be just as good with the original ingredients and you could easily nix the tahini dressing if you don’t normally have it on hand and don’t want to shell out $7 for a jar.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the recipe call for refrigerating the assembled sandwiches for at least 2 hours?
Tightly wrapping and refrigerating the assembled sandwiches for at least 2 hours (or overnight) lets the flavors from the roasted red pepper tapenade, tahini dressing, feta, and arugula soak into the ciabatta. The author says this resting time is what makes the sandwiches so good as a make-ahead picnic or grab-and-go option. 
Do I have to include the tahini dressing, or can I skip it?
The author says you can easily skip the tahini dressing (tahini, water, lemon juice, and one pressed garlic clove) if you don’t want to buy a jar of tahini. She notes the sandwiches would be just as good with the original ingredients and without the dressing.
What is the red pepper tapenade made from?
The tapenade combines 2 drained jarred roasted red peppers (finely chopped), 1/4 cup green onion, 1/4 cup fresh basil, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp hot sauce, and one pressed garlic clove — all stirred together and spread on the bottom half of each ciabatta roll before the roast beef and feta go on.
