30 Gourmet Sandwiches #10: Asian Shrimp and Vegetable Wrap

Ooh a wrap eh? How exotic. What's next, a hot dog?

Got a delivery from further out so I could get some proper shiitake mushrooms. We got some frozen prawns (shrimp), beansprouts (i think thats what they mean by mung beans?), pak choi, and plenty of sesame oil and soy sauce. Oh and some wheat tortillas for the wraps!

Chopping up the veggies and sauteeing them with the sesame oil. If you're working with raw shrimps you should start with them first probably, but mine are frozen and pre-cooked so we will do 'em at the end.

So for the soy sauce... i have all kinds. Im actually gonna mix some of my good dark stuff with light soy sauce and a bit of sugar and mirin as well, just to add a more complex flavour since this and the sesame oil is all the seasoning we've got!

adding the prawns and the leafy half of the pak choi.

Ok... this is starting to become less of a crispy sautee and more of a stew... I guess i can drain it off and itll be fine?

Draining it into a bowl, im going to save all the liquid for later since itll probably make a great stock for noodles!

I haven't forgotten the recipe said to cut the prawns in half... i couldnt do it when they were frozen... honestly they arent that big now so this is kind of a pointless step imo.

Here's all the ingredients layered in, ah but theres just one more thing!

It says to add "soy-laced mayo" but it smells plenty soy'ed up so ill add a bit of this kewpie mayo.

***

Quite nice! I don't know what the trick is, especially with beansprouts, to sear them nicely without drawing all the water out and turning everything super wet. Cook everything less long I guess? If you don't mind the slimyness of everything, the flavours are well balanced making the most of the components and even the wrap and mayo add a little something extra. The unique flavour of shiitake mushrooms is highlighted, along with the prawns. Light and nutritious. Perfect if you like seafood, mushrooms, mayo and beansprouts... ok thats quite a hard sell for a lot of people I suppose.

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #9: Lyonnaise Sandwich

"you'll never eat another egg mcmuffin" doubt mate. doubt. that's like saying oh you like miso ramen, you'll never eat a slightly stale sausage roll at some kids birthday party again.

We've GOT: streaky bacon, egg, i couldn't find frisee but i got some bitter looking leaves. The bread wasn't very specific but i finished that other white loaf so i thought id treat myself to a tiger bloomer, thats always nice.

bacons cooking on the grill

breads in the toaster

eggs frying, still havent cleaned my hob

we can add a little dressing, if we like. I do like. I've got olive oil, dijon mustard, and cider vinegar instead of wine vinegar.

its so bubbly then i mix it up. it looks like frogspawn.

We can assemble, toast and greens look good.

I should have really put the dressing drizzle on this layer, on top of the egg it looks gross with all the bubbles. In the graphic they clearly added a sprinkle of pepper instead of a dressing, which they did NOT mention.

***

It's mid. Again, i find myself enjoying the freshness and quality of the individual ingredients, but it's not really the sum of its parts. It's just another bacon sandwich with vinegar instead of sauce. Is this really lyonnaise style?

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #8: Eggplant Parm Sandwich

So like the sandwich version of eggplant parmesan ? Well, it also seems a bit simpler too.

Crusty rolls, eggplant (aubergine), tomato, basil, mozzarella and parmesan.

First i slice up the eggplant and pick the 3 chunkiest discs. I can save the rest for something else, ill probably just throw them in a pasta.

Brush both sides with olive oil and lay on a nice coating of salt and pepper, and let them fry!

Thinly slice discs of mozzarella to match, and dice a tomato. Don't have to do any more with the tomato and basil really, i guess they stay raw.

once they are looking browned on one side I can flip em over and add the mozzarella, cover the pan with a lid and hope the mozzarella melts nice and quick.

I'll half one of the crusty rolls, might as well have 2 of these today and save the other bread roll and cooked eggplants for tomorrow.

That cheese has melted nicely! Now we just assemble!

oh its a mystery... for the finishing touches i use a thin cheese slicer to top it with parmesan flakes.

****

It's picture perfect! Another recipe that demonstrates the power of fresh and good quality ingredients. It's a classic blend of flavours, the caprese salad trinity. Its basically just bruschetta but the fried eggplant makes it feel a bit more substantial.

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #7: Croque Monsieur

 Cheese toastie chain! Looks like a similar recipe to the last one, but this is supposedly a croque monsieur... though... aren't they supposed to have bechamel sauce? Maybe that's not mandatory.

Authentic or no, i've managed to get some proper fancy gruyere cheese, so probably big  points for that! And plenty of simple smoked ham, dijon mustard, and the last of the sliced bread from my freezer.

Like last recipe, we gotta butter up both sides.

Is this too much cheese? well we bought it just for this so we might as well not be stingy.

A thick layer of ham, look how much ham there is in the reference image, that's so much ham to me.

And a good spread of mustard too. My stuffy nose can forget about it.

I'm popping a tray under my grill this time, we learned a lesson about cheese overflow.

****

Très bien, this goes down real nice. The cheese is stinkier than cheddar but has that continental truffle-like mustiness that makes it seem fancy and its overall still a very good toasting cheese. The ham and mustard are satisfying without being too much. All round good, but is it better than the pear and cheddar? Im thinking maybe not quite. Perhaps its a little simple, obvious. Cheese and ham, not exactly a bold new concept. Have I become pretentious? 

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #6: Grilled Cheese with Pears

Simple grilled cheese, but with an fruity twist. I'm already interested.

Sandwich bread is from the freezer but it can defrost while it grills. We got a basic british pear (conference variety?), i got you covered for a good sharp cheddar cheese, and we got a bit of butter. Actually.. can you believe this is the first sandwich recipe with butter!?

Half a pear should do. You could use less, I suppose.

Buttering BOTH SIDES? Wait where do I put this down? I guess ill just place it on the grill and hurry up and assemble the sandwich!

Big layer of pear, and then good coverage of sliced cheese.

It got real messy in there! These things are a real bastard to clean this is why they always end up in the back of the cupboards.

*****

This rules. Crispy, chewy, plenty cheesy (despite looking like it all oozed out of the sides) and the pears have lightly cooked to a nice crisp-but-not-raw and gently sweet filling. The fruity flavour takes place of a sauce like chutney or mustard so it makes a simple and fun variation to a classic. A great vegetarian alternative if everyone else if having ham and cheese.

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #5: Open-Faced Toasted Almond Sandwich

Had a bit of a virus over the weekend (i did that previous recipe before) and im mostly better, my tastebuds are a bit nerfed. Maybe thats a good thing, come again? almond and cheese was it?

Spared no effort getting just the right things for this. Proper fresh sage, fresh lemon, toasted almond flakes, olive oil, and proper parmesan, none of that grana padano stuff im always buying instead. For the crusty bread though, well actually i still have the heels of that loaf in the freezer. Ok that one sounds less impressive. But i think it'll work well!

Almond flakes, sage, lemon juice, and a bit of grated lemon zest from the outside. I don't know how much olive oil to put in this, ill just start with a little bit and add more if i end up with dry powder instead of a paste.

hard to really puree this stuff as it sticks to the sides eagerly, but I think this is fine? it just needs to be spreadable?

This smells really nice already, maybe this will be a good 'un. Well, we still gotta add a cheese that smells like toe jam.

Fancy fancy cheese! Yes i have a cheese flaker. This is probably enough, its a strong flavour.

wow its transformed a bit under the grill! hopefully i haven't overdone it. I like a crispy top though. Im having both slices because.. im hungery.

****

A fun and imaginative pairing that I think really works! Mine did come out a bit dry though, i think I should have used more oil. I didn't really get any hints on proportions. I dunno if i'd make this again, but maybe thats just because the ingredients arent something i typically have to hand...  if someone wants something a bit unique though i think it'd be as easy crowd pleaser... cut it into smaller slices and it'd be a great canape!