Sunday, March 8, 2009

Sand·wich: Two or more slices of bread with a filling such as meat or cheese placed between them.



I never used to appreciate the beauty of the sandwich, until when I was 17 and began working in a sandwich shop on Saturdays. It was there I learned that filling bread with flavour combinations is an art: turkey and cranberry; spinach, bacon and smoked cheese; tuna with sweetcorn and red pepper. There are reasons why such classics as the BLT are found everywhere (they taste amazing) but I ask you now, who makes the rules?

In the last few weeks I have put up with some teasing from friends as I have been experimenting with my lunchtime sandwich. Since becoming a student I’ve had either peanut butter or marmite as my daily sandwich filling- they are cheap, can be stored long term in a cupboard, and are pretty good for me. However, after Christmas this year I became restless. I started yearning for something more. Something tastier. I started to think of the artworks once created every Saturday.

The experiments started out by combining what food I had left in the fridge that was in danger of going off. That is how I first tried broccoli and cheddar- the broccoli was going soft so I lightly steamed it and stuck it between two pieces of bread with the thinly sliced cheese. I took some stick for that one, but have since repeated it on purpose. The cheese/greens combination is beautiful. Likewise, I have sometimes roasted too much sweet potato for my dinner. A bit of mayo and seasoning. Yum.

When uniting sliced tomato and vegemite between homemeal bread I thought I’d found something tasty and highly original, only to be told it’s a well known snack the Australians call a ‘Redback’.

Another that was laughed at was raspberry jam and cheese. Think of the jam as cranberry sauce and you’ll get the idea. Peanut butter is a wonderful tool when not limited to being a ‘sweet’ filling. First think satay, and then try a peanut butter and cucumber sandwich, or lettuce. Of course it is equally as good with sliced banana (picture above).

The crème de la crème happened this week though. I had some gourmet ingredients I do not usually splash out on, but through a series of events had them in the fridge needing eating. The avocado, sun dried tomato and black olive sandwich was born. Mediterranean paradise. Need I say more?

In conclusion, I no longer have rules on my sandwich board. Whether it be vegetables, meat, fruit or spreads, if things taste good together stick them between two pieces of bread. After all, that’s what the Earl of Sandwich originally did; he put a meal in a convenient casing. Glorious.