Italian Padkos

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As far as I know, the Italians don’t do padkos. I mean, they might pack a box of biscuits for when they get peckish, but overall, there are no egg sandwiches, sausage rolls or thermos coffee in sight. And why would there be? Italy’s famous for having some of the best food in the world, whether you find yourself in a hillside village or in Rome. But to the boerseun in me, hitting the road without a padkossie feels wrong somehow. I’ll admit that when I recently toured Italy this last summer, I didn’t pack any padkos. It was a food tour, after all. But with a few tweaks, you can turn your padkos into a feast that even an Italian would love.

Italian Padkos

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 5 minutes | Serves: 2

for the filled guavas

2 guavas

115 g plain medium fat cream cheese

1 bunch red grapes

1 small fresh honeycomb

for the sandwiches

1 baguette, whole

40 g butter, salted

50 g plain medium fat cream cheese

190 g (1 jar) Forage and Feast Artichoke & Sundried Tomato Salad

30 ml Forage and Feast Aged Balsamic Vinegar

5 slices parma ham

150 g Forage and Feast Mature Gouda, grated

16 g wild rocket

for the pasta salad

100g Forage and Feast Mezze Maniche Rigate

195 g (1 jar) Forage and Feast Sweet & Spicy Red Peppers, roughly chopped

50 g Forage and Feast Cherry Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce

80 g Forage and Feast Caponata

10 baby tomatoes, halved

1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped

1 baby fennel bulb, finely sliced

5 g fresh basil, torn

for the sandwiches

Preheat the oven to 180 °C and place the baguette in the oven for 5 minutes to warm up. Remove from the oven, divide the loaf in half and slice it open. Start with the first sandwich by spreading the butter in an even layer. Place half of the artichoke and sundried tomato salad, mixed with the aged balsamic vinegar, on the buttered loaf and spread it out using the back of a spoon. Cover with half of the grated gouda and finish with half of the wild rocket leaves. Close the sandwich and serve.

For the second sandwich, spread the cream cheese in an even layer followed by the other half of the artichoke and sundried tomato salad. Arrange the parma ham in a layer and cover with the rest of the grated cheese. Finish the sandwich with the wild rocket, cover and serve.

for the pasta salad

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Toss the cooked pasta in 30 ml of the sweet and spicy red peppers preserving liquid. Add the pasta sauce and caponata and stir through. Add the baby tomatoes, sweet red pepper and fennel, and stir through. Garnish with the basil and serve.

for the filled guavas

Slice the guavas in half and hollow out. Fill the halved guavas with cream cheese and level with an off-set spatula to have an even surface. Take a few grapes and slice them lengthwise in thin slices. Arrange the grapes in a flower shape on each guava. Place pieces of the honeycomb on top and serve.