chicken, crisp, ice-cold lettuce and avocado. Possibly my favourite sandwich.
With bacon and chilli-coriander mayo
Grill a few rashers of smoked streaky bacon till truly crisp. Finely chop a small chilli, removing the seeds as you go. Fry in a little oil, then stir into 4 or 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise, together with a handful of finely chopped coriander leaves. Pull some cold roast chicken to shreds and fold into the chilli-coriander mayo. Pile the mixture into rolls, tucking the crisp bacon in as you go.
Herb mayonnaise, radish, cucumber
Peel, deseed and dice some cucumber. Trim a few radishes and slice them in half lengthways. Add to the herb mayonnaise opposite with some roughly torn pieces of roast chicken. Pile on to dark rye bread, preferably in a curl of perfect, crisp summer lettuce.
Mozzarella Chorizo Sandwich
mozzarella, chorizo, ciabatta, spinach
Slice 130g cooking chorizo thickly, across the diagonal, then place the slices in a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. There is no need to use any oil or butter. Cook gently for 4–5 minutes, turning halfway through, until the oil begins to escape from the sausage.
Slice a large ball of mozzarella (about 150g) on top of the chorizo, then carefully spoon some of the oil from the pan over the top. Cook for 2–3 minutes to allow the cheese to melt – covering with a lid will help – then season with a few twists of freshly ground black pepper.
Tear open a short ciabatta, spoon the chorizo and mozzarella inside, then spoon the juices from the pan over the top. Again, there is no need to butter the bread as the pan juices will ensure it gets deliciously moist.
Tuck a handful of spinach leaves inside the ciabatta. Give it a good squeeze, allowing all the juices to soak into the bread and the spinach to wilt a little. Slice the ciabatta in half and serve immediately.
For 2. It’s all about the juices.
Sweet onions
Fry or grill a seriously good pork sausage. Peel and thinly slice a couple of onions and let them cook in a little butter till truly soft. Add a splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar. Add to the sausage as you stuff it into a roll.
Sausage and cheese
Fry or grill a pork sausage or two. Slice in half and place cut-side up on a grill pan. Place a slice of cheese – fontina, Comté or some other firm variety – on top and grill till it melts. Slide into a roll.
Pork Rillettes, Gherkins and Onion Sourdough
pork rillettes, gherkins, spring onion, sourdough bread
Put a large spring onion (2 or 3 if small) in a food processor with 5 tablespoons of olive oil, add some salt and pepper, then blitz to a green paste. Soak 4 slices of sourdough bread in this spring-onion oil.
Fry the bread in a non-stick pan till very crisp on both sides. Drain briefly on kitchen paper, then spread 2 slices with 2 tablespoons of pork rillettes and add a few gherkin slices. Top on. Trickle on the last bit of spring onion marinade. Eat.
Makes 2 sandwiches. Sweet-sharp and crisp.
The French
If the bread and ham are of the best quality, then a ham sandwich needs nothing more than a spread of mustard. A perfect baguette, thin, hand-cut ham, a dab of mustard. That is all. If only life was always as simple as this.
The English
There are two sorts of British ham sandwich: the thin, triangular afternoon-tea sandwich, which I am not concerned with here, and the chunkier, more satisfying version. The English farmhouse ham sandwich probably needs thick, impeccably fresh bread, roughly torn ham and a thick layer of mustard. Embellish as you think fit, with lettuce, mayonnaise, tomato or whatever else takes your fancy.
Panini
The delightful little ciabatta-style stuffed bread. Rectangular, shallow, light. The bread is chewy, the filling can be pretty much anything you fancy, but mozzarella often features and crisp, bright green lettuce is pretty much compulsory, as are slices of tomato.
Ham and cheese works. Always has. But try:
• A smear of wasabi on your ham sandwich.
• A brush of green olive paste is worth pursuing.
• Watercress, rocket, basil – peppery things – always cheer up a ham roll.
• A spoonful of creamy scrambled egg makes a substantial twist.
• Warm some thickly sliced bottled artichokes in olive oil and toss them with the ham.
• Brush baby leeks or spring onions with olive oil and grill till soft. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Grill once again till the cheese is golden, then pile on top of the ham.
• Fry slices of prosciutto briefly till they curl and crisp, then pile them into soft white bread.
Stir-fried Chicken Baguette
chicken breast, beansprouts, lemongrass, coriander, mint, chillies, ginger, sesame oil, mayonnaise, soy sauce, baguette
In a food processor, blitz the following: a lemongrass stalk, 2 red bird’s eye chillies, a peeled walnut-sized piece of fresh ginger, a handful of coriander, a bunch of mint and a little sesame oil.
Remove the skin from a chicken breast, then slice into six. Fry in a wok with a little oil till golden. Add the spice paste, let it sizzle then throw in a handful of beansprouts. Season mayonnaise with a little soy sauce. Split pieces of baguette lengthways, spread with the mayonnaise, then stuff with the spiced chicken and beansprout mixture.
For 2. Fiery, with the refreshing crunch of beansprout and mint.
A sort of teriyaki sandwich
Mix together 50ml groundnut oil, 50ml soy sauce, a crushed clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons of mirin, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of dried chilli flakes. Let 2 salmon steaks soak in it for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, then grill till crisp and dark on the outside. Break into large pieces then stuff into split baguettes with slices of cucumber and soft green leaves such as lamb’s lettuce.
Chilli-spiced chicken rolls
Cut 400g chicken meat into thin strips. In a food processor whizz a medium-hot, deseeded chilli, a pinch of dried chilli flakes, 2 cloves of garlic, a small handful of mint leaves, the juice of a large lemon and 4 tablespoons of oil to a coarse paste. Toss the meat in the spice mixture and set aside for 20 minutes. Grill the chicken and any clinging marinade till sizzling (there will be quite a bit of smoke) then stuff the hot, spicy chicken into rolls, with watercress or crisp lettuce.