Happy Saturday sandwich lovers! I hope a lovely Easter was had by all…although that seems like a lifetime ago already. Who would have thunk it…snow at Easter? With most of it snuggled indoors it did go very quickly. However it was also an opportunity to try out a recipe I’ve been wanting to prepare for a while. Having missed a post for St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve decided to reverse a few weeks and go a bit Irish this week.

For those who have ever been to the Emerald Isle and eaten in a pub, you will know that there is a curiously Irish thing on the menu called a ‘Toasted Special’. This is a concoction of bacon ham, tomato, Cheddar cheese and onion; all toasted between two slices of white or brown bread. This week, we can prepare my version of this Irish staple…however me being me means there are some twists along the way.

This week you will need – tomatoes, spring onion, parsley, a punchy Cheddar cheese, mayo, wholegrain mustard, thickly carved ham, sliced Irish brown soda bread and…yes I’m actually going to say it…truffle butter 😊

First, slice a tomato, dice two spring onions and chop a handful of parsley and set them aside. Next, turn on the grill and get it nice and hot. In a bowl, place two spoons of the truffle butter and whip until soft. Spread the butter on one side of the bread and toast under the grill until golden brown. Turn over the bread and toast on the other side – careful not to burn it. Remove from the grill and set aside to cool – then turn off the grill heat and heat the oven – 200 degrees and close the door to get the oven hot.

Now, in the same bowl as the truffle butter was in, mix a tablespoon of mayo with a tablespoon of mustard and the chopped spring onion. Then, making sure that the bread is on a baking tray (butter side up), slather on the mayo mix. Then on top place the sliced tomatoes, next the ham and finally slices of the Cheddar. Sprinkle the top with some pepper and (if you have it – garlic salt). Place in the oven until the cheese is deliciously bubbling, browning and smells like walking into a French pastry shop first thing in the morning.

Remove from the oven, plate and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. If you can, do also serve with a generous dollop of coleslaw on the side for good measure. Next, hide, indulge and enjoy! Or of course, now that we can, share with your friends…they’ll thank you forever 😊

In the shop where I purchased the ingredients, I found only cans of Guinness. Now, being the good Irish guy that I am, I wouldn’t dream of it…so instead I picked up a wild card, which turned out to be an absolutely delicious Irish stout from the Carlow Brewing Company (aka O’Hara’s). Carlow, for those who don’t know, is a delightful town in the Irish Midlands; it also happens to be the place where I spent the first 8 years of life before we moved to Cork. Talk about a real find…amazing balance, dark, toasty, slightly smoky and utterly divine. Matched with the Toasted ‘Special’…a great combination and easily available from the well-known provisioners – Messrs. Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer of Leeds.

So that’s it for this week. I hope you enjoy preparing this little slice of Ireland. See you all again soon I hope!

Bígí cúramach a chairde!

PóB

Peadar Ó Brollacháin

Hello sandwich lovers. I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week – one closer to more easing of restrictions (fingers crossed) and an ability to get back out there again and celebrate Spring. Now you may have noticed that I tend to be quite meaty in my taste of sarnie so today I’ve put together a vegetarian baguette. Note, I haven’t used vegan ingredients, however some can be substituted out mind.

This recipe will require a bit of cooking and cooling, so make sure you have a some time to relax and enjoy the process – you can even have some vintage Guns N’Roses on in the background, as I did!

This week you’ll need chestnut mushrooms, a courgette, red onion, garlic, a fistful of thyme, some flat leaf parsley, spreadable goats’ cheese, wholegrain mustard, salted butter and a bake-at-home baguette. The result is a pretty fine veggie baguette which can be served for two, with a side salad or fries if preferred. For this recipe, I’ve used Cabridoux, a delicious and mild spreadable goats’ cheese from France. If you prefer something more acidic or punchy, there are plenty of alternatives available.

First of all, bake the baguette at 190 degrees C for 10 minutes or until nicely golden-brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Next, slice the mushrooms, courgette, red onion and garlic into largish chunky pieces. Heat the butter and some olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry all the veg with some salt and pepper and a fistful of thyme – keep the herb in whole pieces as you will be removing it later and it’s easier to remove if kept whole. Also add two tablespoons of the whole grain mustard. Tip! If you cover the saucepan when cooking, it will help to also steam the veg so they don’t caramelise.

When cooked, remove the veg from the pan and leave aside to cool. At the bottom of the saucepan you should have left some liquid from the cooking process. Don’t throw this away as it will make a delicious addition to any stock base for soups and sauces 🙂

Now its time to assemble – slice the baguette in half, on one side spread the goat’s cheese (feel free to be generous), onto the other side spoon on the veg mix and sprinkle on some cracked black pepper and chopped flat parsley. Slice and enjoy!

Do have this with a glass of Chardonnay, to accompany the goat’s cheese. Try Dark Horse, a lovely buttery Californian single grape- make sure its’s very chilled though!

That’s it for this week. Next week is Easter so I hope you all have a lovely week in the lead up to a bit of a break and get to enjoy some sunshine. Until then, be safe, well and see you next time for some more fun between the breadsheets!

PB

Hello sandwich lovers!

I have a quick little post for you this week. Unfortunately it is not what I had originally intended, which was a tribute to St. Patrick’s Day. However that said, we Irish tend to celebrate it all year round, so I am sure that it will pop up again soon – maybe even next week.

I had spent the entire week being very good, even semi-angelic in terms of calorie intake, healthy eating and getting exercise as part of my never ending battle to be trimmer. So when it came to Friday I hit that wall, as all dieters do, thinking ‘wouldn’t it be amazing to have a pizza’. Now I guess we’ve all been here as choosing a pizza these days is akin to choosing a car – it’s like a lifestyle choice; skinny or regular, thin or large crust, low fat or full fat cheese, how many toppings and of course – bought, delivered or made…what would the neighbours think and so forth.

I was also going through the motions of these life-changing pizza questions on Friday when I had a welcome and simplifying thought – why not just buy some bread and use what you have in the fridge? Now I grant you that not everybody has pizza or flatbread toppings in their fridge (and neither do I usually), however this was a rare occasion when I happened to have supplies. So, feeling relieved and happy, off I trotted on my way home into Marks & Spencer and picked up a pretty nice looking flat Focaccia for £2.99. Boom! dinner for two days sorted for a bargain price.

Back at the ranch, I pulled out of the fridge baby spinach, a Mozzarella ball, Parma ham and to my delight, some leftover sun-dried tomato pesto. This was a real find as I had already mentally dedicated myself to opening up a can of chopped tomatoes and reducing it down with garlic and onion for the sauce so lucky me…and Hey Pesto! in five minutes flat I had a delicious homemade flatbread ‘pizza’ ready for the oven. Healthier and a lot cheaper than a Deliveroo and plenty of time for thinking other (semi) great thoughts, rather than which of the 100 types of available pizza to get.

To prepare your flatbread, all you have to do is spread the pesto (or sauce) on the bread and then interlock the spinach, ham and cheese alternately on top, season with cracked black pepper and a sprinkling of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and bake on the rack for 15 minutes. Remove, slice and enjoy! It’s definitely enough for two people so if you can’t finish the other half (as I couldn’t), then simply wrap and freeze for another time. Just remember to reheat in the oven again (not in the microwave).

There we have it – a delicious homemade pizza alternative. By the way, it’s also very tasty with ham and cheddar cheese or of course you can mix it up with any vegetarian alternatives. Why not try some charred artichokes and courgette on top for example?

As it was the weekend, a chilled Coors Light went very well with this little slice of the good life! If you are entertaining, this is also a handy recipe to have ready in advance to simply put in the oven for your guests.

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned for more breadsheets fun!

Have a great week everybody and see you soon.

Be safe and well, Peter

Hello sandwich lovers!

My my, what a week it’s been. Harry and Meghan on Oprah, more vaccinations completed and Boris’ hair longer than ever before! That said, spring is certainly on the way (we hope!) and with it the warmer weather and an excuse to switch to lighter options.

So in that springy spirit, for this weeks’ recipe we’re kicking the duvet off of this breadsheet and preparing a deliciously easy-peasy lemonsqueezy open-top bruschetta.

So off to the, local if possible, shop or supermarket for some supplies. This week you’ll need, per person, two large and ripe plum tomatoes, half a buffalo Mozzarella ball (full fat or low fat – your choice), basil, a free-range chicken breast, red onions, garlic, a loaf of sourdough (you’ll need one large slice per person, so do get a smaller loaf if you are cooking just for your lovely self, as I do), a glass jar of pesto and of course – already in situ – the kitchen staples of olive oil and seasonings. For a vegetarian option, simply replace the chicken with yellow peppers and if vegan, use a vegan cheese alternative.

Back at home and to start, season the chicken breast with salt and pepper and gently pan-fry in olive oil until cooked through and moist. Tip! if you fry at too high a heat you’ll make the chicken too brown on the outside and dry it out, so a low heat is perfect… just remember to make a little sizzle! If using the veggie yellow peppers, cut these into 4 slices, sprinkle with some salt and pan-fry using a very little olive oil on a higher heat until the skins turn brown and the pepper slices become lovely and tender.

Next, dice into chunky pieces half a red onion, 2 garlic cloves (and crush), a small fistful of basil, the tomatoes – removing the small green core first and as much Mozzarella as you want to eat. Please do adjust these quantities based on the amount of people who are going to be enjoying your cooking. Place all the chopped ingredients into a bowl with salt and pepper, seasoning to your taste alongside a tablespoon of olive oil. Leave to marinade for 10-15 minutes whilst the chicken cools down.

Now we’re almost there…in the same frying pan as the chicken was in, add a tad more of olive oil, turn up the heat and toast the sourdough until it turns a deliciously golden brown on both sides. When done remove from the pan, place on a plate and spread on top a generous tablespoon of pesto. Slice the chicken and place on top of the pesto. Then spoon the tomato and Mozzarella mix onto the bread and for the final flourish, sprinkle with a little salt and you’re good to go!

Next and most importantly, do seek out a comfy space to relax and enjoy your breadsheet. If however you are making this recipe for friends or for a gathering (when allowed again) then the beauty of this sandwich is that you simply can have everything ready to assemble at the last minute – so you won’t even miss out on the gossip when you’re the host and being in the kitchen! A warning though; be careful not to assemble your bruschetta too early, otherwise your delicious creations will go soggy.

This duvet-less breadsheet should be savoured with a chilled white or blush. Why not try Whispering Angel; a beautiful delicate pinkie from Provence which has delightful grapefruit and lemon notes. It’s not the cheapest horse in the stable, retailing at around £18, but it certainly is a winning thoroughbred crowd-pleasing companion to this recipe. Though if you still prefer a red, why not try sticking a bottle of Duboeuf Fleurie (yes I know, generic but timeless…) in the fridge and enjoy it chilled. Either way both are great accompaniments.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have fun preparing this little recipe. Do stay tuned for more fun between the breadsheets very soon. Until then be safe and well.

PB

Sourdough, Brioch, sliced white or brown,

Ciabatta, Focaccia, panini and Naan;

Tortilla wrap, pita pocket, bagel, baguette,

Toasted, or not – all placate the palate.

Butter or margarine, unsalted or salted,

From Ireland is best, that’s the second part sorted;

Or maybe prefer olive oil spread with gusto,

    With Balsamic, pesto or a garlicky mayo.

Next comes the best bit – a handful of Cheddar,

a Brie or a blue, or all three, even better!

From honey glazed ham to juicy roast beef…

…butter grilled chicken to rare smoked meats;

Or oven baked veggies with salad and herbs,

Each filling must be, quite simply, superb.

The final decision – to toast or not toast,

Maybe pan-fry or grill – you could even roast;

Or leave it alone and relish as is,

It’s completely your choice, just remember that this…

Is your moment of pleasure; so enjoy the bliss.

And always – nomatter your choice – nothing beats,

That which lies in between the breadsheets.