Start With Pesto

I know that mayonnaise is a favorite spread for a good sandwich, but I love this sandwich and it has no mayo and doesn't need any. It starts instead with pesto.

A favorite restaurant from my younger years had a great chicken sandwich which included chicken, melted mild cheese, roasted red peppers and pesto. It was served on focaccia bread and was delicious.

Recently I made a similar sandwich, but used slipper rolls (ciabatta rolls) instead of the focaccia bread. The chicken was actually left over grilled chicken thighs but this sandwich didn't seem like leftovers at all. The photo below give you an idea of how it looks inside. You can put the red peppers either under the chicken or over it.

Chicken Sandwich with Cheese, Red Pepper and Pesto

For each sandwich:

1 grilled chicken thigh or breast. If leftover, heat on half power in microwave until hot.
1 ciabatta roll, sliced so you have a top and bottom, toasted
about 2 tablespoons shredded jack or mozzarella or similar mild white cheese
about 2 tablespoons prepared pesto
2-3 strips roasted red pepper (from a jar is fine)

1) Slice the grilled, heated chicken into thin slices
2) Place the cheese on the toasted ciabatta roll bottom. Melt the cheese in the microwave or under a broiler. I use a toaster oven. When melted, top with the red pepper strips, which should almost cover the cheese.
3) Spread the pesto on the top slice of ciabatta roll. If roll has cooled, you could heat it a bit in the toaster oven which is warm from melting the cheese, or briefly use the microwave.
4) Place the warm chicken over the red pepper strips and then place the pesto enriched top over the chicken. Press down lightly and serve your sandwich.