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.
specifically, two. Go ahead and put them in a bowl.
Now take a fork and start to mash those babies up.
Keep going with that fork, breaking the white up into smaller and smaller bits.
When it's done, it should look like this:
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.
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.
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.
And mix all that good stuff up.
Now it's time for the really yummy stuff. Take a handful of spinach and chop it up.
And add it to that yummy egg mixture.
And mix it all up.
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:
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!
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.
Now get yourself a tall glass of lemon-aid to go with that sandwich. Bon Appetit!
