Friday, February 20, 2009

Egg Salad Sandwich with Spinach

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I've always liked sandwiches.

But I learned to LOVE them when I visited London during college.

We were studying abroad and Nate and I decided to get there a few days early and do the tourist thing. London wasn't ANYTHING like what we expected. I was thinking rain, fog, overcoats, cups of tea, boiled peas, suet. Instead we emerged from the "Tube," bleary-eyed with jet-lag, into blazing August sunshine. Obviously, it was time to shuck the overcoats. And take a nap. We hadn't slept in over 24 hours and even though it was the middle of the day in London, it was the middle of the night in Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, our hostel wasn't ready for us. So we were left wandering around Southwark looking for something to do, but too tired to really do anything. We wandered into a sandwich shop and ordered two paninis, then ate them in a little park overlooking a kids' play yard. In the haze of that memory, sitting there in the sun eating those sandwiches, it was the BEST sandwich I had ever had. I can't even remember anymore what kind of sandwich it was, but I do remember that I didn't even know sandwiches could be that good.

In fact, British food was much better than its reputation makes out out to be. We loved British cheeses, back bacon, bangers and mash, tikka masala, kebab, bitter warm beer and the endless cups of tea. But we really loved the sandwiches. This is one sandwich we fell in love with while we were there (once we got over the jet lag and could remember flavors of food again). Some were not so great (like anything with Marmite or "brown sauce") but this one is delish.

Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich with Spinach

This recipe makes two sandwiches. Make one for a friend, or save the second one for later. It's a win-win situation, really.

Ok, first, you are going to need some eggs.

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specifically, two. Go ahead and put them in a bowl.

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Now take a fork and start to mash those babies up.

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Keep going with that fork, breaking the white up into smaller and smaller bits.

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When it's done, it should look like this:

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Now we are going to need our good old friends, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. And for pete's sake, use the real stuff people. Life it too short for fake mayonnaise. Really.

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You're also going to need these old friends: vinegar (you don't need to use this one, but use a tasty one), cracked pepper, and kosher salt.

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Now add 2 tbs mayonnaise, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, and a splash of vinegar. You should also add a pinch of salt and some pepper.

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And mix all that good stuff up.

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Now it's time for the really yummy stuff. Take a handful of spinach and chop it up.

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And add it to that yummy egg mixture.

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And mix it all up.

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Now for the sandwich. When first stopped eating gluten, I thought my sandwich eating days were over. Mostly this was because I couldn't find any edible bread. But THEN I found this bread:

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It's pretty good. That or I have forgotten what real bread tastes like and I just don't know any better these days. In any case, I get to eat sandwiches these days. Yay!

Now toast that bread and make yourself a sandwich!

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I make Nate's sandwiches on "real" bread, like, you know, bread that is made out of wheat and costs less than $6 a loaf.

However, as you can see my sandwich is a little more petite than Nate's.

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Now get yourself a tall glass of lemon-aid to go with that sandwich. Bon Appetit!

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5 comments:

  1. All I could think about while reading this post is a sandwich shop named Ricardo's (I believe it's the Ricardo's listed here: http://www.tourinaday.com/oxford/sandwich-shops.html). Once, I said "Ricardo, I trust you. Make me a sandwich." He responded, "Are you hungry?". After I nodded, he said "Really hungry?" with a twinkle in his eye. "Reeaaally hungry" was my response. The resulting sandwich reminded me of a Thanksgiving dinner -- turkey, stuffing, apple chutney, and other deliciousness on ciabatta. I was hungry, but it still took me two sitting to finish it. Best sandwich ever...it's been four years and I still remember it.

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  2. This looks delicious! Thanks for reminding me to eat egg salad sandwiches more often than the day after Easter. :) I used to think I hated egg salad because I had only had the chopped-egg kind, and never the mashed-egg kind. Once I made myself mashed-egg salad with dill and dijon, and spread it on a toasted whole wheat English muffin, I was sold on egg salad after all. I love your idea of adding the spinach in the mixture instead of just putting leaves into your sandwich.

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  3. I know - my mom always made the chopped egg kind too, and she put pickles in it (yuck!). I like pickles, just NOT in this sandwich. :)

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  4. ohhhh Ener-g Foods bread... yeah, not so crazy about that stuff. Have you tried Whole Foods GF bakehouse bread? A universe away from that cardboardy yuckiness.

    =Sea

    PS the filling looks yummy! I've always liked egg salad.

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  5. I haven't! I didn't know they made a GF bread (I've never seen it there?) I agree about the Ener-g tapioca bread/rice bread, but the papa's loaf is pretty good. It's very soft and light for a GF bread.

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