A well-made sandwich is hard to beat.
Satisfying and delicious, sandwiches are a perfect food - whether you make each element from scratch or buy the best ingredients you can, a good sarnie is a simple pleasure and a balanced meal in one.
Getting your hands on the best possible quality bread is a must, and the first step to take. However tasty the filling, all will be lost if the bread is not up to scratch.
Different fillings suit different types of bread. A hearty rye works well with the flavours and textures of sauerkraut, gherkin, Swiss cheese and pastrami - the ingredients for a classic Reuben, named after the owner of Reuben's Deli, NY circa 1914. This sandwich is not one in which to skimp on the ingredients. Many layers of pastrami are part of the charm, combined with the piquant sauerkraut, slivers of gherkin and creamy Russian dressing.
The "Po Boy" hails from New Orleans and was taught to me many years ago in a Grey Lynn haunt called Bayou. Possibly the original subway, you take a length of soft-centred French bread and fill with lettuce, tomatoes [optional], cornmeal crumbed shrimps - or oysters - and a good quality whole egg mayo. Serve hot. The name for this one hails from the southern states where free sandwiches were offered to striking workers in the late 1920s, referred to as "the poor boys".
The third offering is a cafe classic - the steak sandwich. This sandwich relies on the quality of the steak. Scotch is preferable but you could substitute eye fillet, though it may be a bit on the small side, or sirloin which also works well. Cook briefly and pair with salad greens, slices of tomato, roasted onions and bearnaise sauce which is made with tarragon giving it a distinctive flavour. Lightly grilled sourdough brushed with a little olive oil is the bread of choice for this one.
Chef's tip
Make the mayonnaise yourself. By knowing this one technique you can add different flavours to make two of the sauces for these sandwiches and they will taste far better than any store-bought alternative. Bearnaise is a tad trickier but worth the effort!
Mayonnaise
Makes 1 cups
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs lemon juice, approximately
300ml olive oil
white pepper
1. Put the egg yolks into the bowl of a food processor. Add the salt and lemon juice and process until smooth.
2. Gradually drizzle in the olive oil until the mayo becomes thick. Taste and add more lemon juice if necessary and season with white pepper.
