Cardamom Lentil Burgers, Dill Sour Cream and Preserved Lemon Sandwich
I finally made my first preserved lemons of 2015, one of my new annual pantry traditions. Until last year, I focused on jams and chutneys in my kitchen, but then I remembered my grandmother's passion for preserving, her huge cellar packed with shelves up to the ceiling. I can still picture the long lined jars of preserved fruits, all those cherries, plums, pears and apples kept in colourful juices, the crop always came straight from her own or her children's garden. I used to love this room in her old house with the cherry tree in the garden, this was true kitchen magic for my young eyes.
In late summer, my family used to have so many fruits that preserving was the only way to prevent waste. Living in the city doesn't really confront me with this problem, we eat the fruit and vegetables as soon as I buy them or not long after. So unfortunately, there are no baskets full of ripe late summer harvests waiting for me on the kitchen top, but I discovered a couple recipes that are equally satisfying, in preparation and consumption: lemons and artichokes!
This year's preserved lemons are already as tasty as the last batch. I prepared them about 6 weeks ago and they still need a couple months to turn into perfectly tender bites, but I'm impatient and today's recipe asked for their salty sourness. I made meatless burgers with black Beluga and red lentils. The dark lentils stayed crunchy after I cooked them and the red legumes were quite soft, the perfect burger mixture. I refined them with cardamon, parmesan and red onions, squeezed them in a bun and topped the little beauties with a refreshing dill dip and my fruity lemons - a proper spring burger!
Cardamom Lentil Burgers, Dill Sour Cream and Preserved Lemon Sandwich
I made 15 lentil patties, for the 2 sandwiches you will only need 4.
For 2 sandwiches you need
rustic white buns, cut in half, 2
rucola, a small handful
preserved lemon, very thinly sliced, 1/4 (alternatively, you could use the roasted lemon peel from this recipe)
For the patties
Beluga lentils 125g / 4 1/2 ounces
red lentils 125g / 4 1/2 ounces
small bay leaves 2
medium red onion, finely chopped, 1
garlic, crushed, 1 clove
organic eggs 2
Parmesan, grated, 100g / 3 1/2 ounces
breadcrumbs 70g / 2 1/2 ounces
cardamom 1 teaspoon
salt 1 1/4 teaspoons
pepper
olive oil, for frying
For the dill sour cream
sour cream 200g / 7 ounces
fresh dill, chopped, 4 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon for the topping
olive oil 2 teaspoons
heavy cream 1 tablespoon
a pinch of cardamom
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
Cook the red and black lentils separately, according to the instructions on the package, each with 1 bay leaf but without salt. My Beluga needed 20 minutes in 325ml / 11 ounces of water (they should be al dente), the red lentils took 10 minutes in 325ml / 11 ounces of water to be done (they should be soft and mushy). Drain both well once they are cooked and let them cool for about 10 minutes (I cooked mine a few hours before I made the patties).
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F (fan-assisted oven) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, gently mix the lentils and the ingredients for the patties with a wooden spoon until well combined. Wet your hands and form 70g / 2 1/2 ounces patties. Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a heavy pan and fry the lentil patties for 2-3 minutes on medium on both sides until golden brown. You will have to fry them in batches. Transfer the patties onto the baking sheet and cook in the oven for 9 minutes.
Whip the ingredients for the dill sour cream until creamy and season to taste.
Spread a little rucola on each bottom side of the buns, lay 2 patties on top and drizzle some dill sour cream over the lentil burgers. Sprinkle with slices of preserved lemon and fresh dill. Enjoy!
Pea Pesto and Caramelized Honey Bacon Sandwich with fresh Marjoram
My first green pesto in 2015! It's made with peas from my freezer as nature isn't exactly ready for my summery cravings yet, I'll have to wait a couple more months. This is the only frozen vegetable you'll find in my kitchen, throughout the whole year. I like to add them to easy pasta dishes, especially with asparagus, mustard and leak, and salads (like my potato salad with rucola pesto and peas). The legume's vitamins - and its taste - are well preserved in these little green balls of summery freshness when they are frozen and they often taste much better than the fresh ones from the greenhouse.
Frozen peas have another lazy advantage, they save me from peeling them which I can enjoy at times but today I wasn't too unhappy about this circumstance. It made the preparation for this sandwich very simple. I blanched the tiny legumes for just a minute to keep them crisp and then mixed them in the blender with fresh marjoram, a little garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. I ended up with the prettiest bright green pesto; the colour was mesmerizing, thick and lush, fresh flavours merged with the marjoram's flowery aroma. I paired it with crunchy bacon, caramelized with a spoonful of honey. Its savoury saltiness was a perfect addition to the sweet and smooth pesto.
When a sandwich is made with such tasty ingredients it can easily deal with strong, dark bread. I went for a nutty whole wheat bun, topped with linseeds, sunflower and sesame seeds. The whole composition was hearty yet fresh and light at the same time.
So, I’m ready, may spring come soon to pursue all my culinary cravings that have been waiting for months!
Here's the recipe for another one of my legume pestos: Fava Bean Pesto with Mint!
Pea Pesto and Caramelized Honey Bacon Sandwich with fresh Marjoram
For 3 sandwiches you need
fresh whole wheat buns, cut in half, 3
breakfast bacon 6 slices
honey 1/2 teaspoon
olive oil
For the pesto
peas (fresh or frozen) 200g / 7 ounces
garlic, quartered, 1 clove
fresh, young marjoram leaves, chopped, 3/4-1 teaspoon, to taste (mind that it's very aromatic), plus a few leaves for the topping
water used to cook the peas 1-3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon
olive oil 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper
Blanch the peas and the garlic in boiling salted water for 1 minute, reserve 3 tablespoons of the water, drain and quickly rinse them with cold water. Purée the peas, garlic, chopped marjoram, water used to cook the peas, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth, season to taste.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy pan and fry the bacon on medium-high for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and crisp. Add the honey and caramelize for 1 minute.
Spread the pea pesto on the bottom side of the buns, lay the bacon on top and sprinkle with a few marjoram leaves. Enjoy!
Blue Cheese Omelette and Rosemary Prosciutto Ciabatta Sandwich
An especially luscious sandwich for an especially fun occasion: Anna from Pinterest asked me to join their March Breakfast Campaign with an eat in my kitchen sandwich board on my profile. After 65 creations on the blog dedicated to all the delicious culinary wonders that can possibly happen between two slices of bread, it's time to give the sandwich the attention it deserves.
I started my Pinterest profile around the same time as the blog, in winter 2013, to spark my own inspiration but also to share all my finds from the wide spheres of the web. All the wonderful dishes from all over the world that tickle my taste buds, the kitchen pictures that made me want to remodel parts of my own creative culinary space a couple weeks ago, and the endless great ideas you can find for interior design, fashion, architecture, gardening and traveling. I enjoy the time that I spend on this network as it gives me useful information directly connected to the original creator, that's fantastic! So, if you've followed my Sandwich-Wednesdays over the past 15 months and you're looking for a summary, and some more great recipes from other sandwich lovers, you can take a look at my new Pinterest Sandwich board here!
The celebration of this amazingly easy (most of the time) and highly loved snack called for a voluptuous recipe that combines a few ingredients which almost guarantee a scrumptious result: blue cheese, omelette, rosemary prosciutto and rucola on oily ciabatta bread. The sharp cheese definitely takes the egg to another level, even if you want to leave out the bread, you should try this duo one day. Rosemary prosciutto is my all-time favourite ham, thin slices of the finest Italian art of butchering refined with the woody herb, this is perfection made complete with the slight sweetness of the light and fluffy eggs and the salty cheese. It can't get any better when it comes to the easy enjoyments at table!
Blue Cheese Omelette and Rosemary Prosciutto Ciabatta Sandwich
For 2 sandwiches you need
medium ciabatta bread, cut into 2 pieces, 1
organic eggs 3
heavy cream 50ml / 1 3/4 ounces
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
blue cheese, crumbled, 50g / 1 3/4 ounces
Italian rosemary prosciutto, very thinly slices, 2-4 large slices
butter 1 tablespoon
olive oil 1/2-1 teaspoon
rucola, a small handful
fresh rosemary, a few sprigs, for the topping
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, for the topping
Whisk the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a pan and pour in the egg mixture, scramble very lightly and fold onto itself. When the bottom side starts to become golden flip it around. Brown it lightly from the other side for about a minute. Take the pan off the heat and sprinkle the blue cheese on top of the warm omelette.
Cut the ciabatta pieces in half and brush each bottom half with a little olive oil, lay a few rucola leaves on top. Divide the blue cheese omelette in half when the cheese starts to melt and lay on top of the green leaves. Sprinkle with a few rosemary needles and pepper and cover with the rosemary prosciutto. Close the sandwich and enjoy!
Shrimp Sandwich with Cumin Guacamole, Coriander and Chili Peppers
Sometimes I sit in my kitchen, or on my sofa in the living room, I close my eyes and imagine food. Just food. I can see colourful ingredients, vegetables, seafood, spices and herbs, or beautiful dishes carefully prepared on plates. I don't have to do anything, these pictures appear naturally in front of my inner eye. It's a helpful gift and the reason I never fear running out of inspiration, as long as I take my time to sit down with a cup of tea, relax and let go my kitchen ideas will come to me.
Culinary daydreams are fun and I particularly enjoy the ones about new sandwich creations. It makes me feel like a child in a toy shop. I can pull any ingredient out of the imaginary shelf, mix wildly and create whatever comes to mind on the plates, or I can keep it simple and work (or dream) minimal. Fruit and ripe cheese is always a great match, but there's so much more, sweet and salty, creamy and crunchy, sour and spicy, fresh and aged aromas, there are endless possibilities.
It's an exciting process as I never know how it will taste until I finished taking the last picture and enjoy the first bite. Some recipes are hard to imagine but I always follow my gut feeling (literally) and that's quite reliable. Today I felt like cumin guacamole, it's a great fusion of this distinctive spice and the wonderful velvety fruit, they truly bring out the best in each other! I merged this duo with the salty taste of the sea, fresh herbs and some hot spiciness. Shrimp, avocado, coriander and red chili peppers stuffed between a bun, my daydreaming was right, it was delicious!
Shrimp Sandwich with Cumin Guacamole, Coriander and Chili Peppers
For 2 sandwiches you need
buns, cut in half, 2
shrimps, cooked and peeled, 100g / 3.5 ounces
small ripe avocados, peeled, 2
sour cream 3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
a pinch of cumin
salt and pepper
fresh red chili pepper, thinly sliced, 1
fresh coriander leaves, a small handful
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, for the topping
Cut 1 avocado into slices, chop the second one with a fork and mix with 2 tablespoons of the sour cream. Season with lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the guacamole between the 2 buns and spread it voluptuously on the bottom half. Lay the shrimp and avocado slices on top and sprinkle with the remaining sour cream, the chili pepper, crushed pepper and coriander leaves. Enjoy!
Grilled Endive, Ham, Raclette and Pear Sandwich
The thought behind this sandwich is simple: 1. I love the bittersweet combination of endive and pear, 2. the rustic duo of ham and endive gives me a cosy feeling which I desperately crave in February and 3. melted hearty raclette fits to (almost) everything. Just the idea of combining these four ingredients in a grilled sandwich sounded so promising that I could barely wait to take the first bite of my new creation. Usually, I'm quite disciplined while I take pictures for my posts but this time I truly suffered behind the camera. It didn't really help that the smell of this little beauty was even more tempting than its mouthwatering good looks, it was quite a cruel teaser!
The result was so pleasing that I quickly prepared a second batch as the first one went down so well. You can use any hard cheese for this sandwich as long as it melts well and tastes strong enough to stand up next to the other ingredients. I can imagine a ripe blue cheese or camembert would be just as good. I'm a big fan of raclette, its powerful aroma is just made to merge with vegetables, meat or pasta. This Swiss cheese is far from being shy without being obtrusive, and it forms these little smoky bubbles under the grill which smell and taste fantastic. The preparation is quick and easy, I sautéed the endives on both sides before I stacked them on a rustic bun between ham, pear wedges and a generous slice of cheese. Just a few minutes under the grill and the raclette took over my kitchen!
Grilled Endive, Ham, Raclette and Pear Sandwich
For 2 sandwiches you need
sourdough bread 4 slices
small Belgian endives, cut in half (lengthwise), 2
ham 4 slices
pear, cut into thin wedges, 1/2
raclette cheese, sliced, 80g / 3 ounces
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, for the topping
salt
olive oil
Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and sauté the endives on medium heat for 1-2 minutes on each side, season with salt and pepper.
Lay 2 slices of ham on a slice of sourdough bread, spread the pear on top and finish with the sautéed endive. Spread some cheese over the vegetable and continue with the second sandwich. Put both sandwiches under the grill for a few minutes or until the cheese starts bubbling. Sprinkle with pepper and enjoy!
Schnitzel Sandwich with Lemon Butter, Rucola and Cherry Tomatoes
If you ever want to seduce a (non vegetarian) man, make schnitzel, and if you want to be 100% sure that he'll definitely fall for you, make a schnitzel sandwich! There must be something in this rustic snack that men absolutely love. When I fry schnitzel, I always prepare a bigger batch as I know that the leftovers are more than welcome the next day. To see the satisfaction in someone's face after the first bite of this breaded piece of meat stuffed in a bun is impressive. If the man of your heart is a true schnitzel connoisseur this will send him straight to culinary heaven!
You could put the cold meat on a slice of white bread and keep it simple which is already delicious, or you could take it to the next level. Serve the schnitzel warm, fresh out of the sizzling pan and combine it with crunchy rucola and sweet cherry tomatoes. I drizzled lemon butter over it and that made it absolutely irresistible!
Here's another one of my schnitzel recipes with Swabian potato salad!
Schnitzel Sandwich with Lemon Butter, Rucola and Cherry Tomatoes
For 2 sandwiches
white buns, cut in half, 2
schnitzel, 5mm / 1/4″ thin, lightly pounded, 2 (each about 125g / 4.5 ounces)
organic egg, beaten, 1
dry breadcrumbs
plain flour
butter 1 tablespoon for the lemon butter plus 1-2 tablespoons to fry the schnitzel
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
cherry tomatoes, sliced, 6-8
rucola, a small handful
olive oil
salt and pepper
In a large heavy pan, heat a generous splash of olive oil and 1-2 tablespoons of butter over a high temperature, the bottom of the pan should be covered. Prepare 3 large, deep plates, fill one with the egg, the other with flour and the last with breadcrumbs. Lightly dust and turn the meat in the flour first, then turn it in the egg and finally, quickly turn it in the breadcrumbs until covered. Fry the schnitzel for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper and take the meat out of the pan. Dip the inside of the buns into the pan and let them soak the juices.
In a saucepan, warm up 1 tablespoon of butter and the lemon juice. Take it off the heat when it's hot.
Spread some rucola leaves on the bottom of each bun and put the schnitzel (cut in half) on top. Drizzle the lemon butter over the meat and lay a few tomato slices on top. Close the bun, squeeze it and enjoy in good company!
Poached Egg, Grilled Aubergine and Crisp Bacon Sandwich
Excitement in the kitchen! I made my first poached egg and it worked out perfectly. After a quick introduction to the art of egg poaching on Food52 I felt ready to give this challenge a try. To my surprise, it was much easier than I had expected so I could take my time and focus on the other ingredients for this week's sandwich, grilled aubergine and crisp bacon.
My inspiration came from the great Sabih sandwich. I thought about it in the past couple days, how it combines all that lusciousness between two slices of bread, rich hummus, grilled aubergine and a boiled egg merged to true deliciousness. It could easily be too much but somehow this Middle Eastern sandwich classic does it just right. The egg and the eggplant are a great duo, they complement each other perfectly, so I used this idea but added a new flavour, salty bacon. I packed everything in between a large baguette bun and finished it off with some crunchy parsley leaves. I should warn you, this is more than a snack, it's a proper meal, but anything smaller wouldn't have worked, this sandwich has the same addictive quality as the scrumptious Sabih!
Poached Egg, Grilled Aubergine and Bacon Sandwich
For 2 large sandwiches you need
large, crunchy baguette buns, cut in half, 2
aubergine, cut into 1/2cm / 1/4" slices, 1
breakfast bacon 6 slices
eggs 2-4
olive oil
coarse sea salt and pepper
fresh parsley leaves, a small handful
Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil on both sides, season with salt and pepper and put them under the grill for about 6-7 minutes on each side. Watch them as they should be golden, partly brown, but not burned. Take them out of the oven and put the slices on top of each other on a plate, that will keep them moist.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the bacon for a few minutes on each side on medium heat until golden brown and crisp. Lay them on kitchen paper to remove excess fat.
Put 2-3 slices of grilled aubergine on the bottom side of each bun and lay 2-3 slices of bacon on top.
In a saucepan, bring water to the boil, add some salt and turn down the temperature, it should be simmering, not bubbling! Crack an egg open and put it into a small bowl. Put a large spoon (the largest you have) on the surface of the simmering water and gently pour the egg onto the spoon. Hold the spoon with the egg in the water and put the egg back into place with a second tablespoon if it slips off the spoon (I had to do this a couple times). It needs around 3 minutes. When the egg is done, take the spoon out, let the excess water drip off and carefully scrape the poached egg onto the fried bacon with a second spoon. Sprinkle with parsley, close the bun and enjoy!
It's best to poach one egg at a time but if you are impatient, you can cook two at once. In that case, let the first egg float in the water after cooking it on the spoon for 1 1/2 minutes (mind that it doesn't stick to the bottom when you let it float). Poach the second egg on the spoon and take both eggs out after they have cooked for 3 minutes each.
White Bean Hummus and Lomo Prosciutto Sandwich
I'm sorry that the blog wasn't reachable this morning, my web provider had some technical issues. It's fixed now and the food is back!My first hummus sandwich was a luscious recipe which our Godchild's father passed on to me. Last year Guy introduced me to the amazing Sabih, a popular snack from Israel where he grew up. It combines velvety hummus, grilled aubergine and hard boiled eggs packed between two slices of juicy bread. It's the kind of sandwich which makes you lick your fingers afterwards as you don't want to miss out on the tiniest crumb. Shockingly enough, it's been a year since I wrote about it and it's time to play around with some hummus variations. It can't just be chickpeas, big white beans puréed with tahini paste, fresh garlic and lemon juice create an equally delicious dip, maybe a bit softer so you have to go easy on the tahini as it can easily be too overpowering.
Although I had decided to go for white bean hummus for my new Sandwich Wednesday creation I wasn't sure about the further additions until my aunt Ursula asked me if I would be interested in some of her party leftovers. She's a gourmet, so I never refuse whatever she brings to my kitchen! She came with a plate of the finest Serrano and Lomo (meaning pork loin in Spanish) prosciutto, both of extraordinary quality. I chose the Lomo for the sandwiches it had the perfect balance of an expressive character without dominating the other ingredients. The Spanish delicacy merged perfectly with the white bean flavour, I just added some cherry tomatoes for a bit of freshness, another one of my aunt's culinary gifts.
White Bean Hummus and Lomo Prosciutto Sandwich
For 3 sandwiches you need
rustic buns, cut in half, 3
Lomo prosciutto (or San Daniele) 15 small or 6 large thin slices
ripe cherry tomatoes, quartered, 6
butter beans, canned, rinsed and drained, 250g / 9 ounces
tahini paste 1-2 tablespoons
garlic, crushed, 1 clove
freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons
water 1 tablespoon
salt
olive oil
Purée 200g (3.5 ounces) of the beans with the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt in a blender. Season to taste, add more water if the mixture is too dry.
Spread the bean hummus voluptuously on the bottom half of each bun and arrange the prosciutto, the remaining beans and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with a little olive oil, close the bun and enjoy!
A messy Sandwich with Roasted Shallots, Grilled Gruyère and Chutney
I'm in a mountain mood again, losing myself in thoughts of a warm wooden hut with an open fire place and wide snowy views. This calls for onions and cheese on my sandwich, or rather, tiny shallots roasted in their skin until they turn sweet, sticky and juicy, almost caramelised with aromatic gruyère, grilled until golden brown and bubbling. With these two pictures (and flavours) in my mind, I knew that I wouldn't need much else for today's messy sandwich.
I bought a crunchy sourdough bread, a rustic French loaf, strong enough to compete with the final addition to my hearty sandwich, homemade chutneys and marmalade. Our kitchen table was covered in jars with plum, rhubarb, red pepper and apple chutney, and in a moment of culinary cockiness, I decided to try it with some of my tangerine jam. I started by roasting the delicate onions for less than half an hour before I snipped the ends off and squeezed their juiciness onto the hot grilled cheese. One bite after the other, I tried all the different fruity spreads to come to the conclusion that the golden citrus fruits are interesting but quite a challenge for the taste buds and my plum chutney is the winner. Onions, gruyère and plums simply can't go wrong!
A Sandwich with Roasted Shallots, Grilled Gruyère and Chutney
For 3 sandwiches you need
rustic sourdough bread 3 or 6 slices (if you want a closed sandwich)
small shallots, in their skin, 9 - 12
gruyère, or another strong, hard mountain cheese, thinly sliced, 200g / 7 ounces
a fruity chutney, for the topping
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, for the topping
olive oil
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F (I used the Rotitherm setting).
Coat the shallots in a little olive oil and roast in the hot oven for 25 minutes or until soft, turn them after 15 minutes. They should feel soft when you push them down gently.
Spread the gruyère on the slices of bread and put them under the grill for 1 - 2 minutes until the cheese starts bubbling. Snip the ends off the onions and squeeze them onto the cheese. Sprinkle with chutney and pepper and enjoy!
A Nordic Herring Sandwich with Beetroot, Pear and Walnuts
A few years ago we went to a green island in the Baltic sea called Rügen. It was one of those spontaneous holidays that turned into four perfect days of beach and forest walks, late breakfasts and long nights by the fireplace with a mug full of steaming mulled wine on our laps, it was great. A friend offered us her cute little house right behind the cliffs, the cottage was surrounded by dense trees and total silence. Although the strong November storms had just started we wrapped ourselves in our warm jackets and scarves up to our eyes to discover this quiet island. One of our culinary finds was Rügen's delicious seafood, fresh, smoked and pickled, especially the herring is of excellent quality!
When I went on an aimless shopping trip a few days ago, I made a great discovery! With excitement I spotted jars with Rügen's pickled herrings in one of the grocery stores in my area. Within a split second I could see it right in front of me, a pink sandwich, Nordic style with a sour herring and beetroot salad, thick beetroot slices, pear, walnuts and dill. I chose some crunchy potato buns at the bakery and, back at home, I put the roots on the hob immediately. My kitchen impatience called for a sandwich!
A Nordic Herring Sandwich with Beetroot, Pear and Walnuts
For 4 sandwiches you need
hearty white buns, cut in half, 4
beetroot (with skin) 200g / 7 ounces
bay leaf 1
pickled herring (of good quality!), boned, drained and cut into thick strips, 200g / 7 ounces
sour cream or yoghurt 2 heaping tablespoons
olive oil
salt and pepper
crisp pear, cored and sliced, 1
dill, snipped, a small bunch, for the topping
walnuts, broken into small pieces, 4-6, for the topping
Cook the beetroots in salted water with 1 bay leaf for about 50-60 minutes or until al dente. Peel the roots and purée 1/3 of the them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a blender and season with a little salt. Cut the remaining roots into thick slices and coat with olive oil.
Mix the herring with the sour cream and 1 heaping tablespoon of the puréed beetroot.
Brush the bottom of the buns with a little olive oil and lay 3 slices of beetroot on top. Put some of the herring salad and a bit more of the puréed beetroot on top. Gently cover with pear slices and sprinkle with walnuts and dill.
Pretzel Buns with Camembert, Caraway Seeds and Red Onions
It's been dark for days and the sky is painted in a dull grey that doesn't seem to fade away. It welcomes me in the morning as soon as I open the curtains in our bedroom and it changes into pitch black in the afternoon without showing a single patch of blue all day. I don't even want to look outside the windows anymore, I start daydreaming instead, a skill I improved to perfection over the years. I can stare at my computer for minutes before I realise that my mind is already in Dwejra in Gozo, exploring the deep blue of the Mediterranean sea. Another one of my favourite imaginary winter escapes is to stroll down the narrow streets of Valletta, the stone of the baroque buidings glowing in the golden sun and a soft breeze cooling my skin. If I get hungry I just dream myself into Caffe Cordina, I sit at one of the little tables at the Piazza Regina with an espresso and a pastizz tal-irkotta and I completely forget about reality, the grey sky and January's sober melancholy. I'm not in Berlin anymore.
This works with any place in the world which made me happy at one point, a few days ago I found myself in the mountains, in Bavaria. I imagined a summery Biergarten scene, wooden benches, hearty food and beer mugs on rustic tables under green trees. After a few seconds, I got hungry, but not an imaginary kind of hunger. I felt like pretzels and Obatzda, the famous Bavarian dip made of whipped camembert, caraway seeds and sweet paprika. Daydreaming wakes up all the senses, it doesn't matter if you see a real sandwich in front of you or if it's just in your head, all you want is this sandwich on your plate! So I got on my bike, drove to my favourite pretzel bakery and picked a young camembert at the market on my way home. Last year, in early spring, I made an Obatzda variation with rucola and I used a well aged cheese but this time I was after a light aroma to give the spices more space. Back in my kitchen, I put the camembert in the blender and mixed in the spices. When I spread the thick dip voluptuously on a pretzel bun and garnished it with red onions, garden cress and crushed hot chili peppers I could see the Bavarian Biergarten right in front of me.
Update: You can find my recipe for Pretzel Buns here!
Pretzel Buns with Camembert, Caraway Seeds and Red Onions
For 4 sandwiches you need
pretzel buns or large pretzels, cut in half, 4
mild camembert 100g / 3.5 ounces
cream cheese 80g / 3 ounces
heavy cream 1 tablespoon
caraway seeds, ground in a mortar, 1/8 teaspoon
ground sweet paprika 1 teaspoon
ground cayenne pepper, a pinch
salt and pepper
small red onion, cut in half and into thin slices, 1, for the topping
small dried chili peppers, ground in a mortar, 2-3, for the topping
garden cress, a small handful, for the topping
Purée the camembert, cream cheese, heavy cream and spices in a blender until smooth and season to taste. Spread on the buns and sprinkle with onions, garden cress and chili.
Truffle and Grilled Scamorza Sandwich
What a year, full of excitement, with more ups and downs than a roller coaster, with many amazing people who I got to know in the real and digital world. So much has happened through eat in my kitchen that I feel unbelievably thankful for, the blog became a catalyst on so many levels. Marilena taught me about her fantastic Milk Pan di Campobasso from the Molise region, I got to know Arnold the beekeeper in Malta, I met Joanna Bonnici, Mary Licari and the young Maltese chef Kurt Micallef in their kitchens. I could show you Emmanuel Cini's ancient salt pans in Gozo and share so many other meet in your kitchen stories with you. The white pages I fill every week with one of my biggest passions, stories about my beloved food and kitchen, are more than just a tiny space in the endless spheres of the internet. Any recipe that made us happy at our home in Berlin and that's been cooked or baked by you in your kitchen, every email and conversation we shared, every picture that sparked your attention and tickled your appetite, it all left the digital world and entered real life, mine and yours. This is just wonderful, overwhelming and sometimes, hard to believe. I feel thankful for this experience! And that's how I want to end this challenging year, with gratefulness and humbleness. As long as a year is packed with lessons which make me grow and people who give me so much love and support, I can say that it's been a good year!
I want to end 2014 with a sumptuous treat, I spoiled us a little with an ingredient which I don't have in my kitchen so often, black winter truffle from Piemonte. The Italian tartufi is a culinary treasure, aromatic, powerful and delicate. It's not as fine as the region's famous white truffle but today I'm making sandwiches with grilled cheese so the black one is just perfect. I bought them at the market from a young Italian man who also makes fantastic pasta and when I told him that I would use them for a sandwich he told me to try it with grilled Scamorza. This is very popular in Tuscany, truffle with grilled Scamorza on crunchy slices of bread. The smoky and earthy flavours merged wonderfully, I just added some crushed black pepper. There couldn't have been a better culinary end to this year!
I wish you an inspiring 2015, enjoy and indulge!
Meike xx
Truffle and Grilled Scamorza Sandwich
For 4 sandwiches you need
rustic white sourdough buns (or bread), cut in half, 4
black truffle, very thinly sliced (with a truffle slicer or a very sharp knife), 10g / 1/2 ounce
smoked Scamorza cheese, thinly sliced, 200g / 7 ounces
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, to taste
Spread the cheese slices on the bottom sides of the buns and put them under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese starts to melt and bubble. Put the truffle slices on the warm cheese immediately and sprinkle with pepper. We enjoyed it as an open sandwich.
Fillet of Beef Sandwich with Lemon and Rosemary Oil
The year is almost over and there are just two Sandwich Wednesdays left. I can hardly believe that today's creation is the 55th sandwich on the blog! Sometimes, when you do something so consistently and uninterrupted you lose any feeling for time. Since I started making sandwiches for eat in my kitchen every week, I have never thought about what I did the week before or what I would come up with for the following Wednesday. It's been a natural flow guided by my mood, the season and my appetite for specific ingredients and so far it has never let me down. I look forward to all the sandwiches and other culinary adventures and treats to come in the new year!
This Sandwich Wednesday is special, today we celebrate Christmas in Germany. I always feel excited on the 24th December, happy and a bit hyperactive like a child waiting for Santa to visit. I'm lucky to be able to spend this day with the ones I love so much, to share the food we make together, a glass of Champagne and some nice Chianti. We will celebrate and feast today and tomorrow and maybe the day after as well, we'll forget about our duties and worries and just enjoy what life gives us. No matter if it was easy or challenging at times, this year has been an amazing gift, and on Christmas, I take my time to feel grateful and humble for this great adventure!
As much as I love the sumptuous treats during the Christmas holidays, they still have to be comfortable and not too complicated, like my sandwich. I got a nice fillet of beef, just a small piece big enough to cover the slice of a rustic sourdough bread. This is just a little luxurious lunch before the big feast begins. First I fried some rosemary and lemon peel in olive oil to garnish the sandwich but I also made use of the aromatic oil to quickly fry the meat. I packed the fillet in between two slices of bread which I brushed with the rich juices and layered with crunchy rucola, the crispy lemon peel and rosemary and some crushed black pepper. A luscious sandwich which features the finest beef refined with citrus and the woody herb and if you still don't know what to cook tonight, just make a sandwich!
I wish you a wonderful Christmas wherever you may be, with the people and the food you love, enjoy!
Merry Christmas! Meike xx
Fillet of Beef Sandwich with Lemon and Rosemary Oil
For 1 sandwich you need
rustic white sourdough bread, 2 slices
beef fillet 100g / 3.5 ounces
olive oil 3 tablespoons
lemon peel 3-4 long strips
fresh rosemary 2 small sprigs
rucola, a small handful
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, to taste
In a heavy pan, heat the olive oil, lemon peel and rosemary and cook for about 2 minutes until the peel is golden and crisp but not dark. Take out the citrus peel and herbs, heat the oil and sear the beef fillet for a minute on each side.
Brush the bread with the juices from the pan, spread some rucola on one slice and put the meat on top, sprinkle with the roasted lemon peel and rosemary and some pepper. Enjoy!
Grilled Feta and Fennel Sandwich with Caper Berries
There are two ways to deal with Christmas, some stay at home and celebrate with family and friends and others travel as far away as they can. I belong to the first group, I'm too bound by tradition and memories to let go of my annual rituals and jump into something completely new. Although it sounds exciting (and the exodus has started already around me), I'm very happy where I am, at home! I love to listen to all the plans and stories of the exotic places where some of my friends go, but I wouldn't want to change the cold here with the warmth of a Caribbean beach. I would feel strange sitting under a palm tree in a bikini with a Piña Colada in my hand while imagining everyone else having roast duck and warm eggnog under the Christmas tree. I never tried, as I was always worried that it would make me nostalgic at one point and that is the only thing I don't want to happen on that day.
So this year, many of my friends are off to India for some reason and I caught myself in a quiet moment thinking of our summer holiday. The first memory that came into my mind was about food (as always). I had to think of our quick salads, tomatoes and greens tossed together with olive oil, capers and Gbejna, the wonderful Maltese goat cheese. I felt a bit melancholic so I might as well live it out in a sandwich, and here it is: a sesame sandwich with grilled feta, crunchy fennel, tomato, parsley, chili peppers and caper berries. It's not summer, the vegetables aren't really in season (and not at their aromatic peak either) but I just felt like it and it was good! The grilled cheese covered up some of the missing flavours of ripeness but we enjoyed every bite!
Grilled Feta and Fennel Sandwich with Caper Berries
For 4 sandwiches you need
sesame buns, cut in half, 4
feta cheese, sliced, 200g / 7 ounces
small fennel bulb, cut into very thin slices, 1
medium tomato, thinly sliced, 1
fresh chili pepper, cut into rings, 1
caper berries, the stem cut off, quartered, 4
fresh parsley leaves, a small handful
olive oil, for the topping
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, for the topping
Spread 2 slices of fennel on the bottom of each bun and put the feta cheese and a slice of tomato on top. Sprinkle with chili pepper, parsley, a little olive oil and black pepper and put a quartered caper berry on top. Grill for about 3 minutes or until the cheese turns golden. Close the bun and put it under the grill for another minute. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Chestnut Mousse, Prosciutto di Parma and Caramel Pear Sandwich
I wanted to create a Christmas sandwich that combines all I love about the four lavish weeks that end the year. Chestnuts, caramel, pear and cinnamon, this sweet aroma that welcomes me as soon as I open my spice box, and the heavy odor of my golden quince brandy shouldn't be missing. And there's more on the list, paper thin Prosciutto di Parma and fleshy thyme leaves which I use for all my wintery stews, gratins and legumes have to feature as well. This herb is the perfect match for both the chestnuts and the fruit, so there's plenty to work with between two slices of sourdough bread!
This sandwich is a bit baroque, it's luscious and sweet but with a certain finesse. The chestnut mousse (I bought the nuts pre-cooked for reasons of convenience) is velvety and smooth, refined with cinnamon, brandy, orange and cream. The pears are glazed with buttery caramel and stick to Parma's wonderful prosciutto. It's a lot to taste and enjoy, but this season demands a touch of opulence!
Chestnut Mousse, Prosciutto di Parma and Caramel Pear Sandwich
For 3 sandwiches you need
white sourdough bread 6 slices
Prosciutto di Parma 6 slices
crisp pear, cut into slim wedges, 1
butter 2 tablespoons
granulated sugar 2 tablespoons
chestnuts, pre-cooked and peeled, 200g / 7 ounces
heavy cream 75ml / 1/3 cup
brandy or port 1 tablespoon
freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons
ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon
a pinch of salt
fresh thyme leaves 2 tablespoons
Purée the chestnuts, heavy cream, brandy, orange juice and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the thyme in a food processor until smooth and season with a pinch of salt and cinnamon to taste.
Melt the butter and sugar in a pan. Caramelize the pear wedges in the hot brown butter for about 1 minute on each side.
Spread the chestnut mousse on a slice of bread, lay the prosciutto and pear on top and sprinkle with thyme.
Tomato, Leek and Oregano Cream Cheese Sandwich
Today's sandwich reminds me a bit of pizza although there's no melted cheese in the recipe, but if you combine the milky taste of cream cheese with dried oregano and put this on a yeasty bun with tomatoes, you're already half way there. It's a lighter and quicker version, easy to prepare as a little snack for lunch.
The dried oregano should be organic if possible as it tastes remarkably better, as so do the cherry tomatoes. Heirloom fruits are the best, especially in winter, as they offer a variety of flavours from honey sweet to fruity and tart. They also look really pretty with their different shapes and shades of yellow, green, red and brown. Some are almost black, quite dramatic! For my sandwich, I just cut them in half and left them uncooked to keep their crunchiness and freshness. I brought in some leek cut into very thin slices which I sautéed in a little olive oil, they were smooth with a soft hint of onion and merged well with the creaminess of the cheese. This is an easy sandwich, exactly what I need sometimes in a month full of culinary opulence and lusciousness!
As much as I try to stick to the seasons when it comes to vegetables, in winter I can't live without tomatoes. I accept that the skin is a little bit thicker at this time of the year, and you can taste that they aren't spoiled with sun anymore. But if you choose well, you can find some colourful little treasures that please your taste buds.
Tomato, Leek and Oregano Cream Cheese Sandwich
For 2 sandwiches you need
white buns, cut in half, 2
mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut in half, a handful
leek, just the white part, cut into thin slices, 1/4
cream cheese 200g / 7 ounces
dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon, to taste
salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, for the topping
olive oil
Sauté the leek in a little olive oil for a few minutes until soft and golden. Whip the cream cheese with oregano and salt. Season to taste.
Spread a thick layer of the whipped cream cheese on the bottom of the buns and sprinkle them with the sautéed leek. Garnish each bun with tomatoes, some more oregano and crushed pepper before you close it.
Goose Prosciutto and Bay Leaf Apple Sandwich
With almost childish excitement I spotted a nice piece of goose prosciutto, a typical winter treat which couldn't have found its way into my shopping basket at a better time. This Sunday will be the first Advent, the official start of all of my little christmassy traditions which I follow obsessively. Setting up the tree, baking lots of cookies and consuming more warm alcoholic beverages than I normally would are just some of them. Duck, goose and venison are to be found in my kitchen more often as well, another one of my seasonal habits.
Although it's not December yet (or Advent), with today's sandwich I welcome the time of joy and festive savouring. I start with a sandwich that combines the caramelized fruitiness from sour apples cooked in sugary butter with thyme and bay leaf with the smokey aroma of goose prosciutto. The meat is dark red with a strong smokey flavour, a bit too strong for my taste but still good. Its tenderness is topped with a thick layer of goose fat, you have to cut the slices really thin to enjoy it. It's the same with duck prosciutto (which would also be fabulous on this sandwich) or smoked salmon, they should always be sliced as thinly as possible. At first, I wasn't sure if this wintery composition between two slices of a French country loaf needed a further addition, but after the first bite I came to the conclusion that it's all good!
Goose Prosciutto and Bay Leaf Apple Sandwich
For 2 sandwiches you need
white bread 2-4 slices (if you want a closed sandwich)
goose or duck prosciutto, very thinly sliced, 80g / 3 ounces
large sour apple, peeled, cored and thickly sliced, 1
butter 2 tablespoons
granulated sugar 2 tablespoons
small bay leaf (hard stalk removed), chopped finely into tiny crumbs, 1
fresh thyme leaves 2 tablespoons
Melt the butter and sugar in a pan on high temperature, when it's golden brown, add the apples, bay leaf and 1 tablespoon of thyme. Cook the fruit quickly for 1-2 minutes on both sides until golden and caramelized. Spread the apples and their juices on 2 slices of bread and put a few slices of the meat on top. Sprinkle with thyme.
Smoked Salmon Dip with Horseradish and Dill on Pumpernickel
Salty, smoky and creamy! I've wanted to make this sandwich for months but whenever we had thin slices of pink smoked salmon lying in front of us on the kitchen table, we decided that it would be a pity to put this delicacy in a food processor. So we put some bread in the toaster instead and ate the fish puristically, just with toast, delicious as well but not what I had in mind today. I wanted to mix the fish with cream cheese, puréed and seasoned with a little horseradish, a simple composition which tastes fantastic on sweet and dark pumpernickel. It just needs some fresh dill on top and it's a stunner!
In summer, I like to make these sumptuous open sandwiches for a late breakfast or brunch but at this time of the year it's the perfect nibble for dinner parties. You can mix the spread in advance and put it on the table as a little appetizer with some more dips, like hummus or tzatziki with loaves of bread while you finish the last preparations in peace. It makes me nervous when I know that everybody is hungry waiting for me to get ready, so I'd rather see my friends happy with some finger food before the feast begins. It relaxes them as much as me.
Smoked Salmon Dip with Horseradish and Dill on Pumpernickel
For 12 small open sandwiches you need
pumpernickel bread, cut into triangles, 6 slices
smoked salmon 100g / 3.5 ounces
cream cheese 150g / 5.5 ounces
a pinch of freshly grated horseradish, to taste
fresh dill, snipped, a small bunch
Purée the salmon with the cream cheese in a food processor and season with horseradish to taste. Spread on the pumpernickel slices and garnish with dill. Enjoy!
A grilled Beetroot, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwich
These three B's lead to an amazingly luscious sandwich: beetroot, bacon and blue cheese! The earthy-sweet, salty and smoked flavours are anything but silent, however surprisingly harmonic in this combination. They merge naturally with the sharpness of the melted Fourme d'Ambert cheese and the crunchy rucola (arugula) which I added for some colour and green freshness.
It started off with one of my weekly kitchen tradition, I always cook a big pot of the purple roots to have them at hand for our salads or as a little snack cut into small cubes and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. As I saw the rustic vegetable dancing up and down in the deep red water I got mesmerized, dreaming of all the delicious recipes I would use them for. The three B's where one of them!
When I put the sandwich under the grill, the seductive aroma of grilled cheese spread in the air. Attracted by the smell, two hungry people found their way in front of the oven. My partner and his mother Jenny who isn't usually too fond of strong cheeses, blue ones in particular, looked at me with impatience and hunger. They both love my Sandwich Wednesdays but the fact that I have to take pictures first can be quite a mean teaser. Grilled sandwiches especially are a feast for the eyes but even more for the nose. It can be so cruel to sit in front of this beautiful creation in all its juiciness when all you want is to take a big bite but you can't. You have to wait until the last photo is taken. That makes me appreciate it even more!
A grilled Beetroot, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwich
For 3 sandwiches you need
long rustic buns, cut in half, 3
large beetroots, scrubbed and rinsed, 2
bay leaf 1
bacon 3-6 slices
aromatic blue cheese, like Fourme d'Ambert or Stilton, cut into slices, 100g / 3.5 ounces
rucola (arugula), a small handful
olive oil
sat and pepper
Cook the beetroot in lots of salted water with the bay leaf for about 50 minutes or until the roots are soft. Rinse them under cold water and let them cool for a few minutes. Peel and cut them into thick slices and brush them with olive oil.
Fry the bacon in a little olive oil until golden brown and very crisp and brake it into large pieces.
Spread 3-4 beetroot slices on the bottom side of each bun and put a few bacon pieces on top. Finish it off with the blue cheese and put it under the grill for 1-2 minutes until it starts to melt. Sprinkle with pepper and rucola, close the bun and enjoy!
A hearty Raclette, Ham and Rosemary Sandwich
It's time for a hearty sandwich again! Imagine rich and aromatic cheese melting on top of slices of rustic ham in between a crusty bun!
I could have stopped at that point but I wanted to go a bit further. My cheese of choice was a French raclette which is so strong in taste that it can take a few more flavours on the side. I warmed up some olive oil with a few sprigs off my rosemary plant for a woody infused oil to brush the inside of the buns. The spongy softness soaked it all up and kept a soft hint of the herb. If you like to have a bit more than a hint - like me - you can also sprinkle a few of the cooked green needles over it which merge perfectly with the cheese. My obligatory coarsely crushed black peppercorns shouldn't be missing as they add a hearty spiciness, the kind that brings out the best of the rich raclette cheese.
If you're up for a more extensive sandwich project you could also bake my mountain buns, they would fit perfectly!
Raclette, Ham and Rosemary Sandwich
For 2 sandwiches you need
rustic buns, cut in half, 2
slices of ham 2-4
thick slices of raclette cheese, rind cut off, 2-4
rosemary needles, a small handful
olive oil
black peppercorns, coarsely crushed in a mortar, to taste
Cover the bottom of a small sauce pan with olive oil, add the rosemary and put on a high temperature. As soon as the oil and herbs starts sizzling, take the pot off the heat immediately and cover with a lid. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes before you brush the inside of the buns with the oil. Put 1-2 slices of ham on the bottom half of each bun and cover with the cheese. Roast under the grill for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt and turn golden brown. Mind that the cheese doesn't slide off. Sprinkle with pepper and the cooked rosemary and close the bun. Enjoy!
