A Spring Sandwich
A light, spring inspired sandwich made with fresh asparagus, egg and chive flowers.
Excluding a burger, I have never posted a sandwich recipe here. This holds some irony as hands down, a sandwich is my dear Misters favourite meal.
Not a grilled cheese sandwich.
Not a clubhouse sandwich.
Not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Just a sandwich.
Any type of sandwich.
So long as there is a bread top and a bread bottom, he is very pleased.
So the fact that I have never posted a sandwich recipe here, is somewhat odd because what you see here is what we eat. And we eat a lot of sandwiches.
The thing is, I never think of a sandwich has having a recipe. In our house, a sandwich is whatever leftover protein(s) and veg we have in the fridge that can be sliced to fit inside the lines of whatever bread shape we are working with. And in the past, I have been a pretty lame sandwich artist (no Subway job offers pouring in). However, thanks to the biggest time-hoover-but-oh-so-fabulous world of Pinterest, I have been inspired to step up my game in this department. And after making this spring inspired sandwich the other day, I finally have one worth sharing.
My favourite part of this sandwich, is the smallest part.
The chive flowers.
I would like to say I deliberately planted and groomed these spicy blossoms but truth be told, these blossoms were a cry for attention - on their part. These poor dehydrated clay pot chives in my yard managed to survive the entire winter without so much as a glance from me. That is until they produced these delicate violet petals. Like a small child desperate for their mothers attention, it was their last attempt. And sure enough, it worked. These baby florals offer the perfect heat of a cracked peppercorn, without the harshness of the crack. The pop of colour and bite they add to the sandwich were just what it needed.
I did the asparagus two ways - pan fried in cast iron and also steamed. For this spring sandwich, I decided I prefer it steamed. The pan fry gave a more caramelized flavour but I think for a cold dish, the steaming held up much nicer. The eggs were an 8 minute boil. The greens, a mixture of sunflower and pea shoots for crunch. And the spread was a quick whipped garlic aioli. Bacon would have made it even better, but I guess these days that's an obvious statement.
At the end of the day, with an accompanying glass of sparkling rose, this was one of the most civilized home lunches I have had in a long time.
So there you go. A recipe for a sandwich. Too simple? Will you try it? If you like it - and here is hoping you do - it will be one of many more to come.
Enjoy!
A Spring Sandwich
Author: Food Well Said
Serves: 2
A light, spring inspired sandwich made with fresh with asparagus, egg and chive flowers. And like most things, bacon would definitely makes this even better.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette, cut in half and then lengthwise
- small handful of fresh asparagus, about 8, bottom 2 inches cut off
- 3 eggs (or 2 eggs and 1 yolk)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- sprouts/shoots (sunflower, pea or alfalfa)
- radish, thinly sliced
- chive blossoms
Instructions
- In a small pot with about a 1 inch of water, steam asparagus until just tender, about 5 minutes.
- Bring another medium saucepan of water to a rapid boil. Slowly place 2 of the eggs in the boiling water and set timer for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and place eggs in a small ice bath or run under cold water to stop cooking.
- Aioli: Add the garlic, one egg yolk, lemon juice and salt to food processor and run to mince. With the processor running very slowly drizzle oil. The slower the better. If it is too thin, add more oil. Alternatively, use a clean mayonnaise and grate in the garlic.
- To assemble, generously spread aioli on bread. Add several asparagus spears, peeled and sliced egg, sprouts, radish and top with chive blossoms.
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