Pearl Pirie
How are you holding up? Staying safe and isolated as much as you can? We have time. Why not make The Most Amazing Sandwich?
I aimed to recreate the character of a sandwich we had in 2013 at The Goods Shed in Canterbury, England, except their bread was dense and seedy. They had a pear chutney on it as well. Still, this came close.
We ate this with a side of our garden’s asparagus and guacamole. I added some guacamole to half my sandwich as well.
Main Dish: Extravagant Sweet Potato Sandwich
- 1 sweet potato, roasted by oven or microwave
- whole wheat pita or your choice of good bread
- lettuce
- all the toppings
Topping 1: Radish Pesto
- 1 bunch or 2 to 3 cups radish leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 Tbsp Parmesan, grated
- 1/4 cup almonds, toasted
- pinch of salt and pepper
Add the first three ingredients to the food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the rest and pulse until it is a smooth texture.
Good to add to hummus or potato salad as well. Add a vinaigrette and it makes a good salad dressing.
Topping 2: Schug Sauce
This is a derivation of Caroline Ishii’s recipe in Accidental Chef, with changing ingredients to my palate (I don’t like cilantro) and speeding up the method.
- 3 tsp chopped chili peppers
- pinch dried chili pepper flakes
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp coriander
- pinch black pepper
- pinch salt
Mix all into a paste, adding olive oil to mix.
Grill until the garlic smells sweet. Remove back to a jar and add enough olive oil to be liquid again.
It keeps for a few days. It is good to add to sandwiches or soup.
Topping 3: You’ve got (special) mayo
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise (or vegannaise if you can source it)
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- pinch of tarragon
Pearl Pirie’s fourth poetry collection, footlights, is coming out in the fall of 2020 with Radiant Press. Not Quite Dawn, from éditions des petits nuages is available for $12 including shipping. See all her books and sign up for her newsletter at www.pearlpirie.com