Italian Sausage and Spinach Melt with Pumpkin Pesto Mayo

It's no secret I love pumpkin. By far my favorite member of the squash family, pumpkin is a delicious addition to sweet and savory dishes of all kinds, but this may be my most unique pumpkin creation yet. I'm probably playing up the role pumpkin plays in this dish a little much, but just a scant 1/2 tablespoon of pumpkin butter is an important element of the flavor profile of this dish. Just that little hint of sweetness accentuates the savory Italian sausage and herbaceous pesto, with the hearty rye bread providing an ideal backdrop for the melding of all the brilliant flavors. Recipes like this is one of the reasons I do so love a fancy sandwich for experimenting with flavor combinations and creating unexpected culinary experiences in ordinary dishes. My schizophrenic pantry provides me with ample opportunity to introduce ingredients that are ordinarily strangers, but this combination is delicious enough to pick up a couple extra things at the grocery store to try it yourself.

Italian Sausage and Spinach Melt with Pumpkin Pesto Mayo
serves 1

1 link sweet or hot Italian sausage, casing removed
1 ounce fresh spinach, washed, dried, and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon mayo
1/2 tablespoon prepared pesto
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin butter
2 slices dark rye bread
1 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat a pan over medium heat. Add Italian sausage to pan, breaking into small pieces. Cook until fat is rendered and sausage is no longer pink. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Remove pan from heat.

2. Meanwhile, combine mayo, pesto, and pumpkin butter in a small bowl and spread evenly over one slice of bread. Preheat a panini press. (Alternatively heat a pan over medium heat).

3. Spread cooked sausage and spinach evenly over the second slice of bread and top with the shredded cheese. Place first slice of bread on top, mayo side down.

4. Spray panini press (or pan) with nonstick cooking spray. Cook until cheese is melted and fillings are warmed through, flipping once if using a pan on the stove. Remove from heat, let sit for a  minute or two, then slice into two halves and serve promptly.

Rye Bread

After being pretty satisfied with the whole wheat bread I made from Jim Lahey's book My Bread, I decided to try out making rye bread. As with the last loaf, with minimal effort I got a wonderfully crusty loaf with a soft and airy interior and tender crumb, perfumed with the delicious scent of fermentation. This bread made both delicious grilled cheese and was the perfect vehicle for a heap of Stoddard's smoked chicken breast, topped with Spirit Valley maple mustard and lettuce.

Rye Bread
from My Bread by Jim Lahey
makes one 10-inch round loaf, 1.25 pounds

2.25 cups/300 grams bread flour
3/4 cup/100 grams rye flour
1.25 teaspoons/8 grams table salt
1/2 teaspoon/2 grams instant or other active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups/300 grams cool (55 to 65 degrees F) water
Rye flour for dusting



1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.

2. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Using lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

3. Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with rye flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with rye flour. Fold the ends of the tea towel over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the lower third, and place a covered 4.5- to 5.5-quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.

5. Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel and quickly but gently invert the dough into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution-the pot will be very hot). Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly.