The One Ingredient That Separates Good Sandwiches From Great Sandwiches
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, sandwiches play a huge role in my typical week. (When sandwiches like this exist, how can I stop?) Perhaps it’s my natural caveman tendency to eat with my hands, but other than that, chopping food between two carbs is satisfying and convenient. Are you saying that eating sandwiches every day should be repetitive? How can I get rid of food boredom, you ask? It’s simple. I’m adding some life back to my sandwich routine with big bunches of fresh greens.
The first time I ate a herb sandwich was when I was visiting my mother. It’s standard practice for her to cook seven different dishes for me at once (she was preparing me for this life before I even knew it). The first part of lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich on a white bun. Boring. But there was a surprise. I took one bite of what I expected to be simple cold cuts and simple bread, but began to detect bright floral notes, faint licorice, and sweet greens snapping among the salty ham and cheese. It was so delicate yet unmistakable: she added three large whole fresh Italian basil leaves.
Fresh herbs are not a common filling on the typical American sandwich. It’s common to add an extra layer of Swiss cheese before even thinking about salad, let alone herbs. Leave it to my Thai mom to turn ordinary ham and cheese into a whole new flavor experience.
When I say “add herbs to your sandwich,” I don’t mean the usual way of cooking with herbs—chiffonade them or hide them in the mixture. I mean adding them to the layers of meat and cheese as a separate element. They should walk between the slices of bread as boldly as the salad does. Suitable anywhere. Place a few basil leaves or herb mixture directly on top of roasted vegetables or shredded chicken. This little trick can give even the blandest Subway sandwich the complexity of a Vietnamese banh mi. Banh mi, among many other flavorful ingredients like pate and pickled vegetables, includes a whole sprig or two of fresh cilantro, stem and all. If you skip it, the entire sandwich will suffer a decidedly less delicious fate. Thanks to this, all tastes are in harmony.
It’s the best way to add some flair to your everyday turkey and provolone or even an egg white and broccoli breakfast sandwich. Add a whole stem of cilantro (the stem is edible and tastes great), sprigs of oregano, a sage leaf, some dill or even mint leaves. (Fresh mint is brighter, cooler and sweeter than toothpaste.) Transform a holiday meal of pre-cut wraps or sandwiches by topping each serving with a basil leaf. With the wide variety of fresh herbs available in the produce department, the combinations are endless. It’s the easiest way to jazz up an ordinary sandwich without reinventing the food.