Roberta’s Recipes: More easy and tasty sandwiches

As promised, dear friends, here are another seven sandwich recipes for a whole week of creativity in the kitchen! I’ve tried to include a big variety of vegetarian, fish and meat ingredients that’ll make sandwich making – and eating – different every day.

 

Cucumber sandwich

4 slices bread, ½ cucumber, butter or margarine, salt

A very classical, very English sandwich, this is what you would have got served for tea in a posh home in England 100 – or even 50 – years ago. This is how to do a real old-fashioned cucumber sandwich: if possible, use thinly sliced white bread, and slice the cucumber in very thin slices and salt them. Spread a thin layer of soft butter on the bread slices, and then neatly place the cucumber slices on two of them and cover them with the other two. Cut the sandwiches in two either diagonally or vertically.

A very light and stylish snack, which is also vegetarian or even vegan if you substitute the butter with margarine!

 

Greek salad sandwich

2-4 slices bread, 100g olives (pitted), 100g feta cheese or cheddar, 1 tomato, butter or margarine

Another vegetarian sandwich which is actually quite filling thanks to the cheese! Butter two slices of bread, cut the feta or cheddar into small cubes, and chop the tomato. Put them on the bread slices together with the olives and, if you like, top them with two more bread slices – ready! A taste of the Mediterranean at home…

 

Salmon and cream cheese sandwich

4 slices bread (or 2 buns), 200g smoked salmon, 150g cream cheese, 2 leaves of lettuce

This tasty sandwich will give you a feeling of luxury – and a big load of proteins and healthy omega3 fats! Spread a generous amount of cream cheese on the bread slices or the sliced bun, place the smoked salmon and the lettuce on top and cover with the other bread slice or the other half of the bun. A great alternative to ham or bacon!

 

Salami and liverwurst sandwich

4 slices bread, 150g sliced salami, 150g liverwurst, 4-6 gherkin slices

Salami is one of the tastiest variations of charcuterie – especially if you manage to find some Milan, Hungarian or French smoked salami! And it goes very nicely with another rather exotic sounding sort of cooked meat, which you can actually get at the supermarket at a really good price: liverwurst. This lovely, smooth paste is perfect as a basis for a salami sandwich!

So, spread the liverwurst on the bread slices, put the salami slices on them, top with the gherkin slices and the other bread slices. Wonderfully piquant and enormously nutritious!

 

Fish finger sandwich

4 slices bread, 8 fish fingers, mayonnaise, 2 slices of lettuce

The kids will love this, and it’s easy to do, too – all you’ve got to do is fry the fish fingers for 6-7 minutes as you would for an ordinary dinner. Meanwhile, put mayonnaise (or sour cream or yoghurt, if you prefer that) on two slices of bread, then add the fish fingers and the lettuce and cover with more bread. A great way of getting everybody to eat a bit of fish once in a while!

 

Steak tartare sandwich

2 slices bread, 150g fresh mincemeat, 2 egg yolks, salt, pepper, paprika, parsley

Very popular in France and Germany, this sandwich is made with – raw mincemeat! I know, the opinions on eating raw meat differ hugely; but I must say I grew up with it back in Bavaria, and I’ve always loved it. Besides, it’s got all the vitamins and minerals part of which get lost during the cooking.

A steak tartare sandwich is really easy to do: just mix the mincemeat, the egg yolks and the spices in a bowl with two forks, and spread the mixture on a slice of bread! You can decorate your plate nicely with some leaves of lettuce and tomato slices, which also gives you some extra vitamins.

 

Croque Madame

4 slices bread, 4 slices ham, 4 slices cheddar cheese, 2 eggs, 4tsp flour, 30g butter, 150ml milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, olive oil

This famous French recipe, now a coffee shop favourite all around the world, is ideal for a Sunday brunch – just something a bit special… And it’s not difficult to do, either; you’ve just got to be careful with the bechamel sauce, keep stirring so it won’t stick to the pot.

For the bechamel sauce: heat up the butter in a medium pot, add the flour and whisk rigorously; when the mixture is golden brown, slowly add the milk and keep whisking. When it boils, turn down the heat and keep simmering; add salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Then, prepare the ham and cheese sandwiches: put ham and cheese and the bechamel sauce on one slice of bread and top with the other. If you’ve got a toaster, put your sandwiches in at medium temperature for 3-4 minutes; if not, put them in your oven preheated to 200°C for 7-8 minutes. Fry the eggs one by one in a small pan with olive oil, but not too long, the egg yolks should still be runny.

Top the ready sandwiches with one fried egg each and season with salt and pepper to taste. What a perfect start into a cosy Sunday at home!

Enjoy your sandwich creations, dear friends; and if you’ve got any recipes of your own that I haven’t mentioned, please tell me about them! Meanwhile, stay safe and stay home…