Cucumber sandwich with egg salad

For ➍ 

½ cucumber

8 slices of bread (rye bread)

egg salad:

8 cool hard boiled eggs (10 m boil)

3 tbs mayonnaise*

1 ts grain mustard

1 lick white wine vinegar

1 small bunch of chives

1 small bunch of dill

black pepper from the mill

salty

Finely chop the cold peeled eggs and place in a bowl. Finely chop chives and dill. Mix together with the rest of the ingredients under the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. If the egg salad is too dry, stir in an extra tbs of mayonnaise.

Cut the cucumber into thin slices (use the mandoline). Cover the sandwiches with the egg salad, finish with the cucumber.

*for a lighter sauce, replace 1 or 2 tbs mayonnaise with low-fat yoghurt

Polpettone con carciofi e mozzarella (Italian meatloaf with artichokes & mozzarella)

For ➍-➏
6 artichokes
rice flour*
600 g of minced meat (half beef, half pork)
200 g of mozzarella
100 g of cooked ham, sliced
50 g of grated Parmigiano
4 eggs
breadcrumbs
50 g butter
nutmeg
1 clove garlic
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Clean the artichokes by removing the tough outer leaves, remove the internal beard and cut into wedges.
In a large pan, put 6 tbs of olive oil and the garlic clove. Pre-heat and add the artichokes, rolled in rice flour*, salt and stir. Add half a cup of water and cook for about 20 m, adding more hot water if necessary. When the artichoke is tender, turn off, remove the garlic and let cool. If you prefer you can coarsely chop the artichokes with the crescent moon.
In a bowl mix the minced meat with 2 eggs, grated Parmigiano, a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper, add the breadcrumbs if the mixture is too soft.
Spread the mixture onto the baking sheet while maintaining a thickness of about 3 cm, mix well and cover with slices of ham. Now put the artichokes and then the coarsely chopped mozzarella on top.
Use parchment paper to roll up the meatloaf. Baste with the remaining beaten egg and cover with in bread crumbs. Put it in a lightly greased baking dish and pour over a little olive oil and some butter.
Bake at 200°C for about 1 h, basting occasionally with the sauce that will be formed.
Let cool and cut into slices. Eat warm or cold.

*optional.

Cobb grilled cheese

For ➋ sandwiches
4 slices whole wheat bread
4 tbs softened butter
250 g aged gouda, grated
1 roasted chicken breast, sliced
1 small tomato, sliced
½ avocado, pitted, peeled & sliced
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
4 slices cooked bacon
¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread, then stack the two buttered sides together and repeat with the other 2 slices.
Layer top slice of the bread with a handful of gouda then follow with tomato, chicken breast, avocado slices, egg slices, blue cheese crumbles and 2 pieces of bacon then top with another handful of gouda.
Place the ingredient stacked bread, buttered side down, in a non-stick fry pan over medium-high heat and top with the other slice of buttered bread. Cover with lid and let cook for 3-4 m or until golden.
Reduce heat to medium and flip sandwich to the other side and cook for 2-3 m or until bread is toasty golden and the cheese has melted. The second side will cook faster than the first so watch carefully. Repeat process with the other sandwich ingredients to make the second grilled cheese.
Slice sandwiches in half and enjoy hot.

London smoked eel sandwich

For ➊
1 slice of sourdough bread
butter
30-40 g fillet of smoked eel*
1 heaped ts of horseradish cream
Dijon mustard
¼ small red onion, peeled & thinly sliced
2 tbs white wine vinegar
a good pinch of sugar

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. Steep the sliced onion in the pickle and let stand for 1 h.
Warm a grilling pan over a gentle heat. Lay the sour dough on the grill and brown nicely.
Cut the eel fillet into 3 largish pieces.
Butter the toasted side of the sour dough. Cut this in half and spread with Dijon mustard.
Lay on the eel and then the horseradish cream. Lay on the other piece of toast and return to the grill.
Allow the sandwich to brown, then flip and cook similarly on the other side.
Put on a plate and heap the drained pickle alongside.
Serve immediately.

*Replace with smoked trout or mackerel fillet. Or even smoked halibut.

Chicken Po' boy

For ➋
2 small baguettes or ciabatta (or 1, cut in 2)
1 skinned chicken breast
cornmeal or flour
groundnut oil
mayonnaise
shredded (iceberg) lettuce
½ lemon

Split the bread lengthwise, put together and warm in a hot oven.

Slice the chicken into 6. Roll in cornmeal or flour. Fry the pieces in hot oil till crisp, 4-5 m.

Take the bread from the oven. Spread mayonnaise on all sides. Put lettuce on bottom halves. Add chicken pieces. Squeeze some lemon juice on them. Put the top halves on and press down.

Serve warm.

This is a lighter version of the New Orleans classic po' boy. Made with French bread, they can be filled with fried oysters, shrimp, fish, soft-shelled crabs, crayfish, roast beef and gravy, roast pork, meatballs, smoked sausage and more, dressed with a range of condiments (usually mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes) or undressed. It goes back to the oyster loaves from the 19th century, when buns would be scooped, heated and filled with grilled oysters. The name 'po' boy' (from poor boy) seems to have derived from the cheap sandwiches with trimmings the Martin Brothers offered at their Coffee Stand (photograph) to the unpaid streetcar strikers in 1929.
The po' boy is one of the many American submarine sandwiches, loafs of bread loaded with ingredients.
Try another classic American sandwich. Try another Louisiana dish.

Tartine niçoise (Tuna salad sandwich)

For ➋
140 g canned tuna, drained*
2½ tbs mayonnaise
2 ts chopped, fresh parsley
¼ ts ground black pepper
2 slices pain de campagne or sourdough bread
1 tbs lemon aïoli
1 handful loosely packed butterhead lettuce leaves
2-3 tbs niçoise olives
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced crosswise
½ ts chopped, fresh chives

Toss together the tuna, mayonnaise, parsley and black pepper. Set aside.
Drizzle half the lemon aïoli on each slice of bread. Layer the aïoli-seasoned surfaces of each slice of bread with half of the butterhead lettuce, prepared tuna salad, niçoise olives and hard boiled eggs.
Sprinkle the tartines with chopped chives and serve.

*Try with freshly grilled, marinated tuna.

This is a quick take on the traditional salade niçoise with fresh tuna. Read recipes for salade niçoise & old-fashioned salade niçoise.

Pa amb tomàquet (Catalan tomato bread)

For ➍
4 slices sour dough bread (or similar)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & halved
extra virgin olive oil
4 very ripe vine tomatoes

Slice the bread 1 cm thick and toast or grill until golden.

Rub one side of each bread slice with the garlic halves.

Slice the tomatoes in half. Squeeze the pulp over the bread slices while discarding the skins.

Sprinkle a bit of sea salt and season with freshly ground black pepper.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Serve immediately as the tomato pulp makes the bread soggy.

*Or cut the tomatoes in 2, grate them over a bowl. Add salt and oil. Put it on a table with the bread, and let people spread the tomato when they want the bread.
Serve with a tortilla, or some good Spanish ham or tuna. Or with fish like Catalan monk fish.

Pastrami & cream cheese sandwich

For ➊ sandwich
2 slices of bread, white or wholemeal
100 g cream cheese
a few salad leaves or gherkin slices
4 pastrami slices

Spread the cream cheese evenly on the 2 bread slices.

Place the lettuce leaves on one slice of bread.

Add the pastrami on top and close the sandwich by placing the other slice on top.

*Add gherkin and mustard at the last moment for a version closer to the American classic.

Pastrami came to the US with immigrants from Romania. The name was coined to sound like 'salami' in New York City in 1887 by Jewish butcher Reb Sussman after he was given the recipe by a Romanian immigrant. He introduced the classic warm pastrami rye sandwich and soon opened the first New York deli. The pastrami sandwich, stuffed with a gargantuan amount of beef immigrants had never known in Europe, became a celebration of the rich new country. This recipe is a modest variation on the meat monster.
The pastramă preservation method to brine and spice meat is related to the similar basterma, still popular in the regions of the former Ottoman empire.

Cucumber mayonnaise

For ➍
1 medium cucumber
salt
6 heaped tbs good mayonnaise
½ ts smooth Dijon mustard
2 spring onions
1 ts capers
3 sprigs of mint
splash of tarragon vinegar

Peel the cucumber, removing only the tough outer part of the peel, leaving the outside still bright green.

Slice thickly down its length and then cut each slice into small dice. Put in a colander in the sink and scatter salt over. Leave for 30 m.

Put the mayonnaise in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the mustard and a grinding of sea salt and black pepper.

Discard the tough parts and the roots from the spring onions, then slice the rest into fine rings. Add to the mayonnaise with the capers and the roughly chopped leaves from the sprigs of mint.

Stir the cucumber into the mayonnaise. Add a ts or 2 of tarragon vinegar.

Serve as a dressing for smoked fish or as a sandwich* filling.

*Use the best white bread. Discard the crusts. Cut into attractive shapes like wedges or batons.

Witloofsla (endives' salad)

For ➊
1 endive, sliced*
½ apple, peeled & cubed
1 tbs mayo**
1 ts horseradish cream***
75 g smoked trout fillet****
½ lemon juice

Clean and slice endive(s) and apple(s). Sprinkle with lemon juice.
Mix mayo** and horseradish cream***.
Serve in an individual bowl. Mix dressing and endive and apple.
Crumble trout on top.
Serve with fresh toast bread.*****

*Belgian preferred, avoid hydroculture endives.
**Use ½ buttermilk instead.
***Or fresh chopped horseradish, or Japanese horseradish mustard. Or Belgian mustard.
****Use smoked halibut instead.
****Serve half the quantity on a bum or sandwich instead.

Read more Belgian endives recipes: guinea fowl with endives, cod with endives.

Hemingway's favourite Paris sandwich

For ➊
a slice of crusty bread or baguette
5 radishes
butter
salt & pepper

Slice the radishes thinly.

Butter the bread thickly.

Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Serve with a cold lager beer.

American writer Ernest Hemingway ate these simple sandwiches often at the Montparnasse Closerie des Lilas in 1920's Paris. The Closerie, now a fancy restaurant and brasserie, started humbly as a diligence coach inn in 1798. Around 1900, the owner of the bal Bullier, a dance hall, planted 1,000 lilacs plants around the the place.
It became a popular meeting place for generations of writers and artists s.a. Baudelaire, Verlaine, Gide, Jarry, Alain-Fournier, Verhaeren, Maeterlinck, Modigliani, Appolinaire, Oscar Wilde, Hemingway, Dos Passos, Fitzgerald, Henry Miller...

Tuna fish sandwich

For ➊
1 small can tuna (in water), drained
2 tbs carrots, finely chopped
2 tbs celery, finely chopped
1½ tbs coriander, finely chopped
1 tbs mayonnaise
½ ts wasabi*
½ avocado
2 slices toasted bread

Put the carrots and celery in a bowl with the tuna. Add the chopped cilantro.

Add the mayonnaise and the wasabi.

Toss together to combine. Set aside.

Slice half of the avocado into strips, lengthwise.

Arrange all the slices of avocado on one of the bread slices.Spoon the tuna mixture on top of the avocado slices and top with the other piece of toast.

(Slice in small bite sizes to use as fingerfood.)

*Optional. Use horseradish instead.

Mumbai seekh kabob (a Mumbai street sandwich)

For ➍
600 g ground lamb or beef
2 ts fresh ground garlic
1 ts fresh ground ginger
1 ts salt
2 tbs plain yogurt
½ ts cayenne pepper
5 sprigs coriander, finely chopped
1 onion, peeled & finely chopped

With moistened hands, combine and mix all ingredients.

Wet hands. Take a small amount of meat mixture and wrap around a skewer. Keep adding and shaping meat mixture around the skewer into a 25 cm long kabob*. Continue this process until all of the meat mixture is used. Broil for 10 m, turning to brown all sides.**

Garnish with tomato wedges and onion rings. For a spicier taste, add a finely chopped green jalapeno pepper.

*Or roll into meatballs. The meatballs can then be served inside a freshly roasted bum, with some tomato, onion and pepper.
**Or put it in a tandoori oven.

Served in a bun, this is one of the favourite snacks sold in the Muslim streets of Mumbai. At home, it can also be served with spinach.
Add a kind of pesto sauce by crushing an onion, some cardamom and coriander in a food processor.
Picture shows Kalbadevi, one of the most populated sections of Mumbai around 1890.

Bob Dylan's perfect meatballs

For ➍
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbs vegetable oil (for frying)
250 g ground meat (equal parts beef, pork, veal)
4 tbs Parmigiano cheese, grated
9 crackers, finely crushed*
½ ts salt
black pepper
oregano
dried basil
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
4 tbs water
1 egg**
1 ts tomato paste

“Heat the oil over a low heat in a large Dutch oven***. In a big bowl, add the meat, garlic, cheese, crackers, and spices. Mix lightly with your fingers. Don’t be shy, get into it.

In a small bowl, whisk the water, the egg, and the tomato paste.

Add the egg mixture to the meat mixture. Mix it lightly with your fingers. Form it into drum shapes, or balls.****

Cook in batches, over medium high heat, until it is browned on both sides. That will be about five minutes total. Serve ‘em up with some potatoes, or some spaghetti, or just make a sandwich out of them. You're gonna love 'em.****" (Transcript from Dylan's Radio Hour show).

*Use old bread crumbs instead.
**Use only yolk to make firmer balls.
***When using a preheated oven, make an ersatz Dutch oven by folding aluminium foil under and around the balls. Bake for 25 m at 185°C for the spoon-sized balls, 20 m for the medium balls. Otherwise, use a deep frying pan.
****Use 2 overlapping tbs to make a ball, then roll it in your hands. This will make about 10 large-sized or, when cut in 2, 20 medium balls.

In the wonderful radio show, Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, the host not only explored the music he loves and was influenced by, but also dished up some basic recipes, like these tasty meatballs. The recipe seems to be influenced by local Minnesota cooking.
Read more Bob Dylan suggestions: Bob Dylan's finest mint julep,  his mother's fudge bars here.