When the weather is hot, one of the best things to make and eat is a nice cool sandwich. The bread is one of the things that really makes this sandwich and it's quite easy because it starts with store-bought dough. I found the recipe for the flatbread in the Pillsbury 39th BAKE-OFF contest cookbook and altered it slightly for my family's tastes. The idea for the rest of the sandwich came from one that was pictured in a magazine years ago.
This is a family favorite, getting all 9's on the Melnarik rating scale! This recipe makes 6 sandwiches, but I double it, using two cans of pizza dough and adding the herb mixture to one of them, when I have to feed more people. If I take it to a large gathering of people such as our annual beach trip, I cut the pieces smaller in order to share with even more people.
I don't want to roll out the dough until I have all of my topping ingredients ready. Dried rosemary comes in full leaf form, so I use my mortar and pestle to crush the leaves into smaller pieces.
In a small bowl, I mix together the rosemary, basil, salt, garlic and olive oil.
Then, I dice one Roma tomato, place it in another small bowl and with the back of a spoon, crush the pieces slightly. This is so that the tomato seems to become "one with the bread" instead of just "sitting on top" of it.
Now I'm ready to prepare the dough. I remove it from the can and place it on a non-stick baking sheet, or one sprayed with a non-stick coating. As you can see from this picture, the dough doesn't always come out of the can looking perfect!
Using my fingers, I repair any holes and starting in the center, press the dough out to form a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. I use a small rolling pin to make it smooth and to refine the shape.
Next, I cut the dough in half to make a piece for the bottom of the sandwich and one for the top. Using a spoon, I apply the herb mixture to the piece of dough intended to be the top; using the back of the spoon, I spread this mixture as evenly as possible over the dough. The tomatoes get sprinkled on top and pressed lightly into the dough.
Into the oven it goes for 9 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Tip: Do not over bake! Believe me, I've done this in the past. It didn't look completely baked so I left it in the oven until it was more brown. This made it much more "crisp" and nearly impossible to cut! The dough is thin, so it doesn't take long to bake completely. After a couple of minutes of cooling on the baking sheet, I remove the pieces to a cooling rack to cool completely. This doesn't take too long, because the bread is so thin.
While the bread cools, I mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream and taco seasoning to make the spread.
I put the bottom piece of bread (the one without the herbs and tomatoes) on a cutting board and spread half of the taco seasoning mixture to the edges.
I cut the remaining three tomatoes into very thin slices and layer them on top of the spread.
The next layer is the turkey. This can be sliced turkey breast or, as I've used here, the thinly sliced turkey available at the deli. I fold each slice in half and make two layers covering evenly.
Next on is the pepper jack cheese. This adds a little kick to the sandwich. If you prefer not to have any heat at all, you can substitue regular Monterey Jack cheese for the Pepper Jack cheese. I highly suggest you try it this way first.
Sharp cheddar slices are added next. My husband isn't so keen on the sharp cheddar, so I make one of the slices medium cheddar. I just have to remember which corner I put it on so he gets that sandwich once I cut it up.
The rest of the taco seasoning mixture gets spread on the top piece of bread. Tip: Invert the top piece on top of the cheddar cheese when adding the spread, that way, if any of the herbs or tomatoes fall off, they land on the cheese, so they are still contributing flavor to the sandwich!
At this point, if the entire sandwich is being served right away, I add lettuce leaves and cut the entire thing into six sandwiches. If, however, we are not all eating at the same time and/or some will be eaten as leftovers the next day, I cut the sandwich into six pieces and add the lettuce to the individual sandwiches just before serving. I simply don't like wilted lettuce leaves in my sandwiches and I assume everyone else feels the same way!
The combination of the wonderful flavor of the flatbread with the taco seasoning spread and the mild kick of the pepper jack cheese make this sandwich a winner! Enjoy!
Taco Turkey Sandwich
on Herb Flatbread
1 (10 oz.)
can Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Crust
1 teaspoon
dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon
dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon
minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon
salt
1 tablespoon
olive oil
4 Roma
tomatoes, divided
2 tablespoons
mayonnaise
2 tablespoons
sour cream
1 teaspoon
taco seasoning
8 ounces
thinly sliced cooked turkey
6 slices (4
oz.) Pepper Jack cheese
6 slices (4
oz.) sharp cheddar cheese
Fresh lettuce
leaves
Preheat oven
to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Open can of dough and unroll it,
placing it on the baking sheet. Starting
at the center, press out dough with hands to form a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Cut dough in half with a sharp knife to
create 2 equal pieces; one for the top and one for the bottom of the
sandwich. In a small bowl, combine
rosemary, basil, garlic, salt and oil; mix well. Apply the herb mixture to one piece of dough, using the back
of a spoon to spread evenly over the dough. Dice one of the tomatoes and sprinkle evenly over the dough,
pressing slightly into the dough.
Bake at 425°
for 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool completely.
In a small
bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and taco seasoning. Place bottom piece of dough (without
herbs) on a work surface; spread with half of the taco seasoning mixture. Thinly slice the remaining tomatoes;
apply evenly. Add the turkey
evenly, top with both cheeses. Add
lettuce leaves. Spread remaining
taco seasoning mixture to top half of bread; place on top of sandwich, cut into
6 pieces.
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