Excerpt from: A Vegetarian Cooks’ Book, The Green Cutting Board Press, 2004
Loaf of Cuban bread*, about 20” long and a smaller diameter than a French loaf
Slices Yves™ veggie ham
Slices Yves™ veggie turkey
Slices Swiss cheese
Slices Monterey jack cheese
Firm dill pickles sliced lengthwise
Tablespoons soy Nayonaise™
1 ½ Tablespoons spicy mustard
¼ Teaspoon hot sauce
Mix the Nayonaise™. Mustard and hot sauce together to make the sauce Slice the Cuban loaf in half lengthwise and spread each half with the sauce equally. Starting with the veggie ham and turkey slices fold in half and cover the bottom half of the loaf end to end. Cut the cheese slices in half and cover the ham and turkey. Crisscross the entire length with the pickle slices and top with the other half of the loaf. Cut the sandwich in half diagonally.
Heat a large black skillet to medium without oil and set the prepared sandwich halves side by side in the pan. Place another heavy black pan on top of the sandwich and press down firmly for several seconds to flatten the bread loaf to about 1inch or about one third its original thickness. Cook for about 5 minutes being careful to check that it does not burn. When the bottom is crisp brown and hard remove the weight and turn over, replace the top pan and continue until the top is browned and crisp.
*Note: Cuban bread is traditionally made with lard because it was readily available resource on the Island. The genuine article is almost impossible to find outside of Miami and Tampa in the US and in Florida, supermarkets carry it in that area but lard is not included in their formulation. To make Cuban bread youself just follow a standard French bread recipe and cut in about 4 Tbls of softened vegetable shortening while adding the flour to the initial mix. Finally before placing the formed rolls on to a greased baking pan sprinkle it with 1/4 cup of corn meal. Remember, what you’re trying to achieve is a denser, slightly chewy bread loaf with a crisp brown crust.