Thin layers of sweet, spicy meat topped off with cheese make the Italian cold cut sub, or "hoagie," a sandwich connoisseur’s delight. Holding off on the mayo, mustard and pickles concentrates the flavors and distinguishes the sub from a straightforward ham and cheese sandwich. The purists may take the sub without any salad, but lettuce, tomato and peppers provide valuable moisture.

Start to Finish: 10 minutes

Servings: 2

Difficulty Level: Beginner

• 2 soft Italian rolls, 12-inch
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  
• 8 slices Genoa salami or soppressata
  
• 8 slices mortadella
  
• 8 slices Parma ham or prosciutto
  
• 8 slices provolone
  
• 8 slices capocollo
  
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
  
• 1 white or red onion, thinly sliced
  
• 2 tomatoes
  
• 6 pepperoncini or 2 roasted red peppers
  
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper

Slice the bread in half and remove some of the inner filling to make more room for the meat. Drizzle the bread with olive oil and dried oregano.

Lay 4 slices of Genoa salami or spicy soppressata (keeping the rest for the other sandwich) along the length of the roll. Dense and oily, the salami gives the hoagie its distinctive Italian flavor.

Arrange a second layer using the mortadella and Parma ham, which tend to come in larger slices than the salami rosettes and will easily overlap. Top the ham layer with the cheese slices, and finish off with a layer of rich, spicy capocollo.

Fine shred the lettuce, slice the onion into thin slivers and cut the tomatoes and spicy pepperoncini into delicate rounds. Sprinkle the lettuce evenly over the meat, scatter the onion and lay the tomato and pepperoncini along the sub.

Drizzle the salad layer with a little more olive oil; a splash of red wine vinegar, for sharpness; and the salt and pepper.

Fold down the top layer of the first sandwich and repeat the process for the second sandwich. If taking the hoagie on the road, wrap it tight with a sheet of sandwich paper, deli-style.