This combination is inspired by my panino of choice at All’Antico Vinaio, a popular wine and panino bar in the shadow of the Palazzo Vecchio that attracts all types looking for a freshly made, cheap lunch. It’s a mostly standing-room-only affair with patrons inevitably spilling out into the street, panino in hand, and a long queue at the height of lunch hour.
Finocchiona is a typical Tuscan cured meat – a large, round, pink salume often embedded with whole black peppercorns and that very Tuscan flavouring of wild fennel seeds. Soft and gooey stracchino cheese is ideal here, as it is creamy and delicately flavoured and does not overpower the other ingredients.