If there’s one thing I love most in the world is the sweet sweet sense of comradery when fellow Montreal motorists band together, hold the line and not let that one jerk cut in line in front of queuing cars at a highway exit. Ok, if there’s another thing I love most in the world is an awesome sandwich.
My pervy sandwich lust has seen me experimenting with various recipes, combinations of ingredients, breads that here are my top five recipes that I want to share with the world of food-hedonists.
1. Grilled Italian Sausage Roll
Ingredients: Grilled Italian sausage, sautéed bell peppers, arugula, mozzarella, and balsamic onion marmalade on Italian milk bread.
– Great to make in a big batch and keep them wrapped in the fridge. The balsamic onion marmalade was taken from Tom Colicchio’s ‘wichcraft.Any kind of Italian sausage works well in this sandwich; I like to use a spicy one which is complimented by the sweet onions and peppery arugula. The bread is available at any Italian deli/bakery and fluffiness proves as best option to nestle all the fillings while soaking up all the juices.
2. B.A.C.T.A
Ingredients: Maple bacon, mayo, sliced emmentaler, alfalfa sprouts, seasoned sliced avocado, sliced tomato on fresh thick-cut country bread.
– Real simple and straight forward – light and fresh, this sandwich will not leave you feeling bogged down for the rest of the day whether you have it for breakfast, lunch or even as an afternoon snack. Sharp cheese works well as it balances out the buttery avocado and salty bacon. This sandwich is a great way to use up any leftover bacon from breakfast… pfffftttahahahahaha, “leftover bacon”… I crack myself up sometimes.
3. Meat Rollup
Ingredients: Grilled flank steak, garlic aioli, tabouleh, quick pickled red onions, crumbled feta wrapped in naan.
– I stumbled upon this concoction when I literally wrapped up a bunch of left overs in a pita, but now I find myself going out of my way to make this “sandwich” on its own with a few modifications. Grilled bavette is easiest for this sandwich – sliced thin on a bias against the grain will have this cut of meat falling apart in your mouth. With a warm a piece of naan, spread the garlic aioli and place the beef (rested – cold will work as well); top that with a generous helping of tabouleh, crumbled feta and a few slices of pickled red onions, the acid will cut through the richness of the sauce and surely lighten up this substantial wrap.
4. Fennel chicken salad
Ingredients: Fennel chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, sliced mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, arugula on croissant.
– By far, chicken salad is one of my most favourite sandwiches, if it’s plain and in between two pieces of white bread, or fancy-pantsed up with fennel, grapes and walnuts, chicken and mayo is a match made in food-porny heaven. Aromatic and sweet, this chicken salad tastes better when it’s had some time to sit in the fridge for a while and goes nicely against the peppery arugula and rich croissant. I suggest slicing the croissant and toasting them just a bit to stand up to the sheer weight of the filling.
5. “The BOSS.”
Ingredients: Pesto roasted chicken, prosciutto, oven roasted eggplant and zucchini, provolone, fresh basil and mayo on baguette.
– This monstrosity came to me in a dream, it gave me explicit instructions to build it then bask in all its glory. Oven roasted chicken breast bathed in pesto (fresh or bottled; reserve some), roast off some thinly sliced eggplant and zucchini (in a separate baking pan) at the same time sprinkled with salt, pepper and drizzled with olive oil. Build the sandwich by spreading mayo on the bottom half and pesto (reserved from roasting the chicken) on the top half of a sliced fresh baguette; layer chicken, proscuitto, roasted vegetables, cheese and fresh basil leaves. The aromatic basil is – obviously – dominant in this sandwich, but is balanced well from the salty proscuitto and softness of the cheese. The vegetables soak up a lot of the dissipated basil essence and mellows the sandwich out considerably.
There aren’t exact measurements, as everyone’s taste is different – use this as a guide and adjust to your own preference. So, what is your favourite kind of sandwich? Try these or use them as inspiration to finding your own unique recipes for awesome sandwiches or on-the-go meals.
Take a picture of your creations and tag me on Instagram,and/or use the hashtag #sangwichMTL and I’ll repost some of the most tastiest variations of my sandwiches!
