Hot Italian Sliders

I am a huge lover of the Hot Sandwich. In fact I guess you could say I am a lover of the Sandwich in general. Sandwiches, savory bakes and pies, they are a weakness of mine.
In fact I would have to say that I love savory things far more than sweet things. I could easily live without cake, it would be hard . . . . but savory things? Impossible. Don't ask me to go without them, or my sandwiches.
I really love having a sandwich for a main meal. Either lunch or supper, but to be honest, I fill up so easily these days that if I had a sandwich for lunch, I wouldn't want any supper, so for me now, a sandwich is usually a supper, and what a fabulous supper these Hot Italian Sliders made!

Sliders are great for a quick supper, or even for entertaining. People use them a lot for footie nights and other game nights. They are a popular treat for any kind of get-together.
I like them for supper. They go wonderfully with a hot cup of soup or even a salad, maybe some potato chips on the side.
I had seen a few Hot Italian Slider recipes online which caught my end. There was one here that looked promising, and another one here. In the end I just decided to go with my own thing. They ended up being very delicious. I hope that you will want to make some for yourself!
I enjoyed mine with a hot cup of tomato soup. I love any sandwich with tomato soup. It is my favorite dinnertime combination for those nights when I just can't be asked to cook!!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HOT ITALIAN SLIDERS
Just a few store cupboard ingredients. If you plan properly, you can even use one of the packages of mixed Italian meats to fill these with, rather than buying the meats separately at the deli-counter.

6 unsliced soft slider buns
1/4 cup (65g) butter softened
1 tsp garlic Italian seasoning
3 TBS Parmesan Cheese
6 slices Italian Salami
12 slices Pepperoni
6 slices Italian ham with herbs
4 slices provolone cheese
4 slices medium cheddar cheese
Hot pickled peppers to taste

Most packs of slider buns come at a 12 count in the pack. Simply remove six and then freeze the remainder for another time.
I used a prepacked mix of Italian Meats when I made these this time. It had just enough meat in it to make these tasty sliders. There was two kinds of Italian Salami, (a simple one and a hot one) as well as Italian Prosciutto ham. Just the perfect size.
I used hot pickled peppers. They come in a rather large jar, so I am not sure what I will do with the remainder, perhaps use them in a pot roast of some sort.
Hot Italian Sliders

You can use whatever kinds of cheeses you enjoy. I used a cheddar and Provolone cheese. Both have excellent melting properties, which is what You want.
My Italian Seasoning did not include any garlic in it so I added about 1/4 tsp each of garlic and onion powders (not salt) to the mix. This worked beautifully.

HOW TO MAKE HOT ITALIAN SLIDERS
Not at all difficult to make, these are just a matter of layering a few simple ingredients in slider buns and then baking until the cheeses melt and the flavors meld together in perfect unison!

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F gas mark 4. Have ready a baking dish or baking sheet large enough to hold the buns in one layer.Slice your slider rolls in half horizontally through the middle.Cream together the butter, seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Spread 2/3 of this mixture on the cut sides of the rolls.

Layer the salami, pepperoni and ham on the bottom half of the sliders. Lay the hot peppers on top of the meats. Top with the cheeses. Place the top halves of the buns cut side down on top of the cheeses.

Brush the remaining butter mixture on top of the slider rolls. Cover loosely with tin foil.Bake for 10 minutes in the heated oven, uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes until lightly crisp on top, everything has heated through, and the cheese has melted. Serve hot.

As far as hot sandwiches go, this was really delicious. The buns were crisp on the bottom and top, and yet soft in the middle with just enough filling to make them substantial.
You could of course vary the meats you use. The herb Parmesan butter was fabulous. You could also switch out the cheeses to something else if you are not fond of Provolone.
The hot peppers added a bit of heat and a bit of tang. If you wanted to you could use Italian Giardiniera pickles, homemade or otherwise. Always nice!

Are you a fan of the hot sandwich? If so you might also enjoy the following! I know I sure do!
HOT HAM & CHEESE SANDWICH with caramelized onions and bacon - sized for one, but easily multiplied to feed more. A soft poppyseed Kaiser bun, spread with a mustard butter and then filled with lots of sliced deli ham, crisp smoky bacon, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions. Altogether one very tasty mouthful!!
ULTIMATE MEATLOAF SANDWICH - Not just any old meatloaf sandwich but a delicious combination of thick slices of meatloaf, browned in a skillet and then tucked between slices of crusty bread with lettuce, cheese and homemade onion rings. Delicious! A whole mouth-load of tasty!
Yield: 3 servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner