Italian B.L.T.

It's national sandwich month and fresh tomatoes are hitting their peak. Celebrate both with a B.L.T.!

In theory, all you need to make a B.L.T. is bread, lettuce, bacon, tomato and mayonnaise, but variations on this simple theme can be interesting.

For this sandwich, I pushed the flavor in an Italian direction, using a tomato-basil mayonnaise in place of simple mayo, substituting arugula for the lettuce and adding fresh mozzarella. You could make it even more Italian by using Italian bread and pancetta, but I prefer the smoky flavor of American-style bacon.

Italian B.L.T.

Bacon (2 strips per sandwich)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
5-6 grape tomatoes
Small bunch of basil leaves
Sandwich bread (2 slices per sandwich)
Beefsteak tomatoes, 3-4 slices per sandwich
Fresh mozzarella, sliced (2 slices per sandwich)
Arugula

1. Cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat until crisp. Drain and cut in half.

2. Add mayonnaise, grape tomatoes and basil in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

3. Toast bread slices. Spread with tomato-basil mayo. Build sandwich with 2 slices of bacon, 3-4 tomato slices, 2 slices fresh mozzarella and a handful of arugula.