At work, I am known as The Sandwich King. It is a triple decker. It evolved from my making two sandwiches and putting them in a single baggie, which I just peel back while eating it. At some point I realised that since I was not taking the sandwiches out, I could load up the condiments and other various juices from the sandwich ingredients on the middle two slices. This has two advantages: 1 it maximises the flavour of the drippings and bread, and 2 the outer slices do not disintegrate. Having had a sandwich or two here in London, I can tell you that the typical London sandwich is bone dry. There seems to be a fear of soggy bread. Maybe it is the same at home too and I just always ate at soggy sandwich places, but I can say that I always loved the flavours of ingredients mixing together and getting absorbed into and mixing up with the bread… yum!
I am not comfortable with the title Sandwich King. I find the ones who care about titles are often lacking in actual skill and thus are totally reliant upon the title for a sense of distinction. But it is not that. Perhaps my American roots give me a mistrust of monarchs? No it isn’t quite that. For me, I think it is the basic rut that my sandwich has become. Except for whatever is the cheap fruit that week at the market, my sandwich is basically the same.
Immediately interior to the two outer most slices are layers of lettuce, which shield them from disintegration. The lettuce is stuck onto the interior slices with an adhesive layer of Dijon mustard and Marmite. Marmite is hard to describe, and as far as I know it has no American equivalent. It is primarily yeast extract. It is thick and salty. Its flavour is reminiscent of cheese for me, which is an interesting sensation because as many of you know I pretty much do not eat diary. So in that way I find it intriguing. It also has the suggestion of concentrated ale… kind of like what a stout or porter might taste if you boiled away the water and alcohol maybe… perhaps I will try that sometime…
So that leaves the interior, which is inevitably mayo, tomato. and a guest fruit. Frequently the guest is kiwi, plum, and peach. Less frequent guests are avocado, apple, pears, and Sharon fruit (a kind of persimmon). And the juice from cutting up the tomato and guest fruit are carefully transferred to the interior slices before packing it up into its baggie. In some ways, the sandwich is a throwback to my vegetarian days. But I really do look forward to it.
Recently, my sandwich has been the source of inspiration for some sandwich making at work. We often discuss each other’s ingredients over lunch. I have to say that these other sandwiches sound amazing, like a multiple course meal like prawns (shrimp) and chillis or salmon cheese and walnut… plus what ever salads (veg). I feel more like the sandwich peasant than the Sandwich King in comparison. Maybe it is the size, or maybe because I was first?
Anyway, there has been talk of a contest. That would be fun. But I kind of like my cheapo ‘fruity salady’ sandwich. I will definitely miss Marmite when we finally move back. But there is no point focusing on that now: Monday, I will be having my usual with avocado.
Photos:
Bread
Marmite
Tomato
Avocado
Crown
