The Saturday List #449 - My top seven sandwiches

 Earlier this week, I posted a blog detailing my loathing of gunge filled sandwiches. It occurred to me that I've not done a favourite sandwich list. I reaslised as I wrote the blog that this needs to be addressed! So here it is. My favourite sandwiches.

1. Bacon Sandwich. This is the to me the absolute Emperor of sandwiches. All you need is good quality bacon, as sold bt proper butchers such as Gerard on Daws Lane, good bread and proper butter. I am not a fan of the BLT. Why would you want to put lettuce in a bacon sarnie? It is insanity. Whoever ate a bacon butty and thought "This could really use some lettuce". The bacon should be cooked until it is everso slightly crispy.

2. Cheese sarnie. Now there are more cheeses than there are pigeons in Trafalger square, so lets be specific. It has to be the strongest, extra mature cheddar. Thirty years ago, I'd have put Branston pickle on it, but I think they've changed the recipe and it tastes wrong. It is slightly too sweet and the acidity is wrong. 

3. Sardine Sarnie/ Now this is the one sarnie that I do modify. I love to remove the bones (the dogs love em, it is a treat so all are happy), mash them up, add sarsons malt vinegar and a bit of good butter. Can't beat it.  I prefer sardines to Tuna, which to me is dry and bland when tinned.

4.  Cheese and Ham sandwich. If you can get hold of proper deli ham, it is excellent with a good cheese in a sarnie. This stuff that you buy in supermarkets, dripping with water and slimey are disgusting. It has to be proper ham. 

5. Hungarian salami. I love salami and hungarian salami is far and away the best. It is harder to get hold of but worth the effort.

6. Fish finger sandwich. This is a proper treat. We have this most weekends. Fish fingers are much underrated. I don't mind a dab of tartare sauce on this. The one time gunge is acceptable.

7. The classic sausage sarnie. Proper bangers. I used to love HP sauce on them, but I have to say, like Branston pickle, the taste of it has changed and it is horrible now.

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What are your favourite sarnies?

Declaring war on gunge in sandwiches

 Me? I love a good sarnie. When I was a teenager, there was nothing I liked better than a bacon butty at The Travellers Fare cafe at Kings Cross Station on my way to St Pancras for the train home. British Rail catering was often derided, but I used to rather like the unfussy approach. The choices were such delights as cheese and tomato, ham and tomato, bacon, sausage or egg. You'd get two slices of white bread, margarine and a filling. All washed down with a cup of builders strength tea. The whole idea was that it was cheap and cheerful. In 1976 a cup of tea and a cheese sandwich would set you back 36p.

I can't exactly recall when things started to go wrong, but in 1991 I recall, when working in Pall Mall, a new cafe opened up. I wasn't eating meat at the time. They did a hot cheese and mushroom croissant. I'd never had anything so delicious in my life. The cafe was called Pret. A couple of weeks later, they introduced a new sandwich. It was rocket and crayfish sandwich, with delicious mayo on it. It was amazing. I told all my friends to try this new cafe. They were all amazed at the tasty delights on offer. For about six months, I'd go to Pret every day for lunch. Despite the fact that everything was twice as much as the other cafe's the food was just too good to miss out on. 

Then I changed jobs and was based in Aldgate. Here we had Sidoli's cafe. It was back to the cheese rolls and tuna sarnies. I longed for Pret. Over the course of time, it seemed like there was a Pret everywhere. However they no longer did the cheese and mushroom croissants. I excitedly sought out the crayfish and rocket sarnie. To my horror, it was pretty average. Over the next few weeks, I tried a few different Pret sandwiches. What had seemed delicious a few years before now just seemed like a mush topped with gunge. I realised that every single item had mayonaise on. Not only that, but to me, the mayo tasted of nothing and made my mouth taste greasy. Worse than that, it seemed that all of the supermarkets etc had followed suite. No sandwich tasted of anything and everything came with that gunge that was called mayo. 

I realised that the sarnies and rolls made in Sidoli's were far superior and gunge wasn't mandatory. But the trouble is, if you get a train or plane, the little cafe's like Sidoli's are nowhere to be found. Whereas you used to be able to get a freshly prepared bacon roll in a BR buffet on a train, now, if you are lucky, you get something in a box, that they may microwave if they feel like it and costs a small fortune. Whilst the snobs that write newspapers and gossip columns used to laugh at the plain fare of British Rail, the truth is that it was decent food at a reasonable cost. The small cafe's that are rapidly disappearing from our high streets, providing wholesome food at a reasonable cost are being replaced with shiny chains, that produce tasteless food, covered in gunge in factories, to be sold en masse in their outlets. 

There are some things you can be sure of. The cheese in the sandwiches tastes of nothing. Buy some decent mature cheddar from a proper shop and make yourself a sandwich and compare the taste with the gunge bomb that you'll buy in a ready made box. I do love an egg on toast, but try and get that in any chain and you'll be rather disappointed. Sure you'll get a chopped up egg drowned in mayo, but I certainly know what I'd rather have. 

I'm starting the campaign to end gunge filled sandwiches. There was a time when small business owners were just happy running a cafe. Now it seems that unless you have a desire to 'start a franchise' you lack ambition. The world is going mad before our eyes. I don't know who decided that if you want a cheese sarnie, you need a bucket of gunge on it, but it has to stop! I may return to this theme on a Saturday in the very near future!

The Saturday list #241 - My ten favourite sandwiches

There are two types of sandwich. There are the ones wrapped up in plastic, soggy with gloopy mayonnaise, cold and tasteless, that you buy in supermarkets. And then there are proper sandwiches, which are a delight and if you are lucky, I will make you in my kitchen. Before we get stuck into the fillings, lets talk about the bread. Firstly a proper sarnie doesn't have the horrible sliced bread you get in bags in supermarkets. They have proper bread. In Mill Hill, the tiger loaf, freshly baked from Wenzels is a good starting point. Slice it to a size of 1cm. I don't do dairy for health reasons, but for the purposes of this blog, Lurpac or Anchor butter should be used. And also, lets get into what accompanies them. Personally I like a nice cup of tea. Coffee has too strong a flavour and numbs your tastebuds, especially if it's got that horrible gunge on top that you get in coffee shops. If you eat anything whilst drinking a drink with added sugar, you will stop your tastebuds working properly, so it has to be tea or water, to fully appreciate these. My studies have shown that some food work better with toasted bread and some need freshly cut bread.

1. The Bacon and Tomato.
This was my Dad's piece d'resistance. You need the best quality smoked bacon. I'd recommend going to see Mr Gerard on Daws Lane. It should be enjoyed, so three rashers. Get a plum tomato and slice half of it thin and fry with the bacon. Toast the bread until golden brown. Add pepper. This really is the best sandwich known to man.

2. The Falafel, Avocado and Tomato.
Having taunted the veggies and vegans, here is one specially for you. I used to work on Leman St and there was a little cafe called Lemans. One day, I saw they had a 'Special'. It was falafel and avocado. I was intrigued. It was topped with  chilli and garlic sauce. I can honestly say that it was the best sandwich I've ever had in a cafe. It became imperative to recreate this tasty delight. Here is my take on it. You need Marks and Spencers falafels, You can be lazy and microwave them, but they are far better fried in sunflower oil. Whilst frying them, add some grated garlic and fry it till slightly brown.
 When the falafel skin is crisp, put between two slices of freshly sliced bread. Then add some smashed avocado, some thinly sliced tomato, add pepper, the fried garlic and finish with some Nando's medium Peri Peri sauce.

3. The classic cheese and pickled onion.
There are cheese sandwiches and there are cheese sandwiches. My abiding image of the supermarket ones are soggy, gloopy and generally disgusting. But it doesn't have to be this way. I don't do dairy, but allow myself cheese on special occasions. I always make sure it is weapons grade when I do. The classic cheese sandwich has the finest, extra mature cheddar. Buy the cheese from Borough Market. Cut it to around 50mm. Slice a pickled onion and add on top and there it is. Use freshly cut bread.

4. The Snutberger sandwich.
Back in 1981, during the False Dots Scandinavian tour, I discovered the Snutburger. We were playing the Pub Bastun in Aland, and the only dish they served was the Snutburger. This is a slice of thickly cut finnish salami, a slice of good cheddar, placed in a bun and microwaved. It was delicious. I have modified this classic. Use toasted bread and thick cut Hungarian Salami. Add a thin slice of cheese and microwave on 800 watts for 40 seconds (or until cheese has started to melt). A little pepper is also nice.

5. The Sausage and mustard sarnie.
Again a classic. But you need proper sausages. I'd recommend the Cumberlands from Gerard. Whilst you are there, pick up a jar of Dijon mustard. A simple classic. Use freshly cut bread.

6. The Mushroom and Roquefort.
I was a vegetarian for 16 years. This was perhaps the thing that kept me sane. Dead simple. Get some field mushrooms, slice them thin, fry them and put them between two slices of freshly toasted bread. Sprinkle some Roquefort on top. Bliss.

7.  The Prawn Sarnie.
A special for all of the Manchester United fans who read the blog! Much as Roy Keane has maligned the Prawn Sarnie, and much as the ones covered in gunge are disgusting, there is no reason that this should be anything other than a delight. Use toasted bread, get a bag of Iceland cooked prawns. Fry them up for 3 minutes in olive oil, slice in some chilli and grated garlic. Put between the slices and Bob is your mothers brother. Magnifique!

8.  The fish finger sarnie.
This is our Saturday morning treat. It is a cause of consternation, as Mrs T prefers the huge M&S jumbo Fish fingers, wheras I prefer the Birds Eye ones. They fit the aesthetics of a sandwich far better. Simply fry them up, place between two slices of toast and thinly slice a gherkin on top. Simple and delicious. Three fish fingers is the ideal portion. They should be cooked until the skin is crispy.

9. The ultimate smoked salmon sarnie.
Of course my Jewish friends insist that Smoked Salmon really should only be taken with a Bagel and they are probably right. However I do love smoked salmon and capers between two slices of freshly sliced bread, with liberally applied Lurpak butter. Yummies Deli in Mill Hill Broadway do excellent fresh smoked salmon and if you prefer Bagels, they do pretty good ones. As a heathen, I love the onion bagels to be toasted.

10. The ultimate omelette sarnie.
This is a really quick and tasty treat. Whisk up an egg, fry in a small pan and add some diced ham and grated cheddar. Cook until firm an the cheese has melted. Simply add to two slices of buttered bread. A good non meat alternative is a few pieces of smoked tofu.

I am considering making a series of videos showing just how quick and easy these are. What do you think?

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