Carrot & Cilantro Sandwich Spread

Recently I saw a restaurant menu that offered a carrot sandwich. It included grated carrots, cheese and maple syrup. I was reluctant to try it because I think carrots are very sweet on their own, but it got me thinking about what I might like on a sandwich. This is what I came up with.

• 1/2 cup of grated carrots
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp of seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tsp mayonnaise
• Cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste

I grated a medium carrot on the second to finest side of a box grater. I chopped a small handful of cilantro, including the stems. I added mayo, rice vinegar, and spices and stirred.

You should use this right away. It does not improve by sitting overnight as water is drawn out of the carrots, making it more watery.

I added some roast pork, but it would be great with turkey, chicken, and even beef. It also works on its own without meat if you want a vegetarian sandwich. I used enough cayenne that it does not work as a salad, it’s grated too finely and is too spicy. It needs the bread to balance the spiciness.

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Masa Cakes with Kale & Sweet Potato Salad with Over-Easy Egg

This was easy and delicious. I have been experimenting with masa harina to figure out ways to cook with it since I got a huge bag from Harvest Share. I’m not fond of cornbread  so I wanted to go in a different direction. I made the salad first and made more than I needed for the masa cakes.

For the salad, this makes enough for 8 masa cakes, but is also good on grilled cheese and with sandwiches. So I don’t mind.

• 1/2 bunch of kale, cleaned, stripped off the stem, and finely chopped. This is about 3 cups of kale.
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• Juice from 1 fresh lemon
• 1 tsp kosher salt.
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced.
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled,  cut into small pieces, and parboiled in salted water.

Mix these first four ingredients together and rub the oil, salt, and lemon into the kale to soften it. Add the sliced onions. Drain the sweet potatoes and add to the kale. Let rest for an hour or more in the fridge.

For the Masa Cakes, this makes four masa cakes.

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1½ tablespoons  butter, sliced
• 1 cup masa harina corn flour
• Dash of Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup grated cheese (I used pepper jack)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Mix together the masa, salt, sugar, use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter, add milk and stir together until smooth, add the cheese and mix it in.  Divide into 4 balls.

Using a piece of wax paper, but one ball of dough between two layers of wax paper. Press flat to about 1/4 inc. I used a small bowl and pressed down to make the edges smooth, tossing remaining dough back in the bowl to use. This will make 4 masa cakes.

Heat a griddle on medium and put about 1/2 tbsp of olive oil on it. When it’s heated, put two on the griddle to cook, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

When you’re ready to serve, fry an egg over-easy. You could poach them instead.

Assemble by putting a torta cake on your plate. Then put a handful of kale salad on top of the cake. Add the over-easy egg so when you eat it, the egg dresses the salad.

Makes four servings.

 

Grilled Havarti Cucumber on Rye

This is an easy recipe but must be made in two steps. First, you want to marinate a cucumber in some vinegar with dill weed, salt, and pepper.

• 1 cucumber
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp dill weed
• salt and pepper

Slice the cucumbers and put in a sealable container. Add vinegar, dill weed, salt, and pepper. Put the lid on and shake. Stick in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Since you are only using the cucumber slices, you can reuse the vinegar to pickle another cucumber. I like this on sandwiches and have used it on a fried chicken sandwich and on a sandwich with slices of London broil.

Now on to the sandwich. Heat a cast iron skillet on low (3 out of 10 on my stove). Butter one side of a slice of rye bread and lay butter side down in the skillet. Layer thin slices of Havarti Dill cheese to cover all the bread. Then layer the cucumber slices. I layered two layers of cucumber because I think Havarti is a relatively sweet cheese and wanted more vegetable than cheese. Please the second slice of rye on top. Let cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is grilled. Flip and cook the other side. Remove, cut in half and serve.

It’s very important the cucumber marinate so it’s more pickle than cucumber. The unctuous cheese needs that vinegary bite. The dill in the cucumbers reinforces the dill in the cheese. The cucumber retains just enough of its crunch to give you a bit of toothiness. It’s delicious and easy.

Grilled Pear Sandwich with Caramelized Onion Jam & Tomato Jerk Jam

Who doesn’t love a grilled sandwich? I discovered that pears are delicious on a grilled rye sandwich. I don’t have a grill nor a yard for grilling, but if you turn your stove fan on high and pay attention you can grill thinly sliced pears on the electric burner. Just don’t try to do more than three slices at a time.

To make this sandwich, I heated my griddle to medium heat and buttered two slices of rye bread. I spread some caramelized onion jam on one side and some tomato jerk jam on the other. I layered 1/2 of a pear thinly sliced and grilled on top of both slices of bread and let them cook on the griddle until toasted, putting the sandwich together after it’s done.

The char on the pear gives it such a delicious flavor, sort of sweet and smoky. The onion jam is deep and herbaceous with the flavor of bay and thyme lifted by balsamic vinegar. The tomato jerk jam is bright, sweet and earthy. Together they all come together into a burst of flavor that is bright, fresh, and satisfying. If you spread the rye bread with olive oil instead of butter, you could make a vegan version.

 

Caramelized Onion Jam

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until it shimmers a bit. Add the onions and stir so they are all coated in oil. Add thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Let cook until starting to turn transparent, reduce heat a bit and keep cooking until they begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes.  Add sugar and let cook another 5 to 10 minutes until they are a deep brown color and the sugar is all melted and caramelizing. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or so until soft and melty. Add Balsamic Vinegar and stir, continue stirring on simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the bay leaf, let cool, and place in a container (about 1 cup). It will keep a week.

• 4 TBSP olive oil
• 1 quart of thinly sliced onions, broken apart
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 TBSP sugar
• 2 TBSP balsamic vinegarMakes 1 cup of caramelized onions.

Jerk Pork, Rhubarb Nectarine Chutney, and Cabbage Salad Sandwich

There’s nothing like a delicious sandwich for lunch. The trick is to get a good blend of flavor and texture and this sandwich brings everything. There are three ingredients in this sandwich, roast pork, cabbage, and chutney.

Roast Pork

I like to buy the cheapest pork roast, the shoulder or picnic roasts which run about $1.50 per pound. I spread Jamaica Jerk seasoning over the outside of the roast, top, bottom and sides. I roasted for about 40 minutes at 450° F. Roasting time depends on the size of the roast, so I always use a meat thermometer, removing the roast from the oven to rest when the thermometer reaches 140°.

Nectarine-Rhubarb Chutney

Chutneys are the easiest thing to make. All you do is toss some fruit in with sugar, spices, lots of ginger, and some vinegar or citrus juice, in this case, lime juice. Chop everything up, bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for about one to two hours so all the substance is cooked down to a thick liquid. These are ingredients in this chutney.  This makes about a cup of chutney.

• 3 stalks of rhubarb
• 4 small or 2 large nectarines
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 small lime, use zest and juice
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Cabbage Sandwich Slaw

Just about any slaw will work, a mix of crunchy cabbage with a dressing of vinegar is all you need.

• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage
• 2 TBSP chopped cilantro
• 2 TBSP diced yellow onion
• 1 TBSP rice vinegar (more or less)
• Lime zest from one lime

For this, I finely chopped one cup of cabbage, added cilantro and yellow onion. I added some salt and pepper to taste. I then added rice vinegar, just enough to dress the salad (about 1 TBSP). Mix it up and let it rest for an hour or more so the cabbage absorbs the vinegar. (This makes enough slaw for two sandwiches)

Rye Bread

I suppose you can use any bread, but I am partial to rye. I spread chutney on one slice and mayonnaise on the other. On the side with mayo, I put the cabbage slaw and I put the pork on the chutney side. I spread a bit more chutney over the pork. This helped hold it all together when I put the pieces together and cut it in half.

This is a delicious sandwich with the crunchy freshness of the cabbage with the bit of tang of vinegar and lime. The chutney adds the unctuous sweet and sour. The rye lays down this hearty foundation for the meat and slaw. It’s perfection.

 

Sweet & Sour Mango and Fig Sauce

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 8 mangos, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup grated ginger
• 2 fresh lemons, zest and juice
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
• 12 tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Put everything into a heavy saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce to a slow simmer, cover, and cook for two hours or more, stirring occasionally until a thick paste. Remove from heat, cool, and puree in a blender.

Makes 3 jars of chutney which is also a fabulous sauce for steaks. As a lifelong addict to knackebröd, a little chutney, flat parsley, plain yogurt and sliced raw asparagus is a tasty, flavorful breakfast. Last night, I used the chutney on a steak .

This is a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce. It’s based on Major Grey’s Mango Chutney, but I substituted dried figs for raisins. (I like nearly every other dried fruit more than raisins.) I left out the garlic and used seasoned rice vinegar rather than cider vinegar. That was because I was out of cider vinegar, but it does add a deeper flavor. I pureed in a blender rather than leave it chunky, which is the more traditional way to serve it. This is because I was thinking of using it as a base for a salad dressing, which you can see in my next recipe.

Tomato Jam

Ever since I read the words tomato jam in some book about the South, I have been thinking I need to try it. When there were two freah tomatoes in my Imperfect box this week, I knew its time had come.

• 2 tomatoes, remove the core and chop
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 small lime, use zest and juice
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Put all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring steadily. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer for about 90 minutes, checking and stirring every 15 minutes or so until reduced to a thick jam texture. Store in a covered container in the fridge. It will keep for a couple weeks, but it won’t last that long as it’s so good. This makes about 1 cup of jam.

So wow! This is so good. It’s got this amazing sweet and sour flavor that would be good on just about anything. There’s some great heat from the ginger and red pepper flakes, there’s this aromatic oomph from the cloves and cinnamon and truly, my house smelled like tomato heaven.

Here are a few sandwich options. I toasted and yes! those are heels because I like how crispy they get when toasted. It makes me think this may be really delicious on knäckebröd and makes me want to go to Ikea. On the left, toast, tomato jam, sliced cucumber, and grapefruit. On the right, tomato jam, feta cheese, and a sprig of fennel.

Here I used knackebröd with tomato jam. On the left, I added feta and on the right, I used sauteed kale, fennel, and onions from the grilled cheese.

Oatcakes – Oatmeal Crackers

Smörgåsbord is a way of life for Scandinavians and open-face sandwiches and snack crackers like rye crisp are part of that tradition. These are my aunt’s oatcakes that make a delicious snack cracker sandwich.

Preheat oven to 325° F.

In a bowl, blend together

• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup white flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Add liquid and mix.

• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup hot water

Layer parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spread out the dough, pressing it flat to 1/4 inch. To get even edges, fold up the parchment paper and press until it is evenly flat. It will fill the entire cookie sheet so it’s nice if you use one with edges. I used a pizza cutter to cut into 24 squares before baking because it will crumble if you cut it later. The pizza cutter won’t pull the dough, so it’s easier than a regular knife.

I baked for 40 minutes, until it began to brown and then let it cool. It will crack apart where you cut. The oatcakes are delicious plain, a bit of nutty crispness. However, oatcakes are also a fantastic base for snacks.

Things I have put on oatcakes include:

• Diced tomatoes and parm
• Hard-boiled eggs and olives
• Cucumbers, sour cream, and dill
• Zucchini, tomatoes, and red chili flakes (Thanks, Eripom!)
• Pepper jack cheese
• Cheddar cheese
• Olive tapenade
• Lingonberry preserves
• Banana & Peanut Butter

Chicken Peanut Sauce Burrito

I got some peanut butter from Harvest Share last month and discovered that it actually is pretty good on celery. When the jar was close to empty, I thought it might be interesting to toss some rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, and dried red pepper flakes, shake it up so the peanut butter sticking to the sides of the jar did not go to waste. I tried it on some lettuce and it was delicious. So this is the peanut dressing I made.

• 2 TBSP peanut butter
• 2 TSBP seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 lg. clove of garlic, crushed and macerated with salt
• Juice from 1 lime, squeezed.

I thought it might be good with some chicken. So I sauteed a chicken breast with just some salt and pepper in olive oil. While it was cooking, I chopped 2 TBSP of yellow onion,   thawed out 2 TBSP of frozen peas by running them in cold water, toasted 6 pecans in a dry pan and chopped them up.

I removed the chicken breast and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then I heated up my burner and with the air vent on high, charred two flour tortillas against the coils of the stove. If I had a gas stove, I would grill, but this is my “electric grilling.” Just lay them on the medium-high coil with half hanging off the edge so you can grab them.  Flip with your fingers as soon as it begins to char, I generally “grill” on each side a few times to grill the whole tortilla. You cannot be doing anything else when you do this because you don’t want to start the tortillas on fire.  It adds a really great flavor and makes delicious tortillas.

I compiled my dish with a small handful of lettuce, the sliced chicken breast, onions, pecans and thawed peas. I then added the peanut dressing and rolled them up.

This is delicious. Chicken is such a mild ingredient that it embraces nearly anything you do. I liked the peas (And yes, fresh would be better, but needs must,) They added a bit of texture and freshness. It all went together so well. It’s zingy and spicy from the lime and red peppers and then the peanut adds this kind of hearty sweetness.