A Monday night, mid-January.
It’s dark. Christmas is a distant memory — unless you’re the house down the road with their fairy lights still resolutely twinkly through the dark damp drizzle of storm Brendan.
From here, the warmth and light of spring seem unreachable.
What’s for tea?
We need food that’s going to put a smile on our faces and a warm round glow in our bellies. Don’t come at me with your new year food fads and detox diets. I’m all for shaving off a few pounds. God knows I need to, my grey jumper dress tells no lies. We’re not on good terms right now. But we need food that makes us feel good. Food that’s simple and tasty. Food that’s comforting. Food that helps us get through the dark days. Food that’s minimal effort for maximum mmmm mmmm mmm.
What food’s put a smile on my chops?
Sandwich.
Not any old sandwich. I put in the groundwork.
If you’re doing veganuary, look away now.
Sunday’s braised beef with creamy mash and kale became Monday’s hot beef sandwiches with gravy mayo.
Slow cooked meats are a beautiful thing. Some basic prep. A few minutes of chopping, browning and assembling. Then forget about it. Ignore it. Have a glass of wine. Walk the dog. Watch a movie. Leave it for two hours. Leave it for six hours. It will forgive you either way.
But this minimal effort will pay off two fold if you cook twice the amount. What better way to use up the ‘leftovers’ than sandwiched between two halves of freshly baked bread.
I took the lead from Max Halley’s recipe “The Original Gangster”, more for inspiration than precision.
This is actually two recipes from Max’s Sandwich Book: Braised Beef For All Seasons (Sunday’s dinner) and The Original Gangster (for Monday’s tea).
I couldn’t quite bring myself to “burn” the veg first as he recommends. That was a bit too much effort for me in the quest for full-on flavour. Maybe next time if I’m feeling more enthusiastic. But the addition of miso paste was a winner, as was the gravy mayo in the sandwich.
When it came to the sandwich, I went rogue there too and went for a home-baked baguette and sliced pickles rather than his recommended bread and accoutrements. Did I mention the gravy mayo?
Let’s eat more sandwiches.
( 27 / #Write52 )