These are the best sandwiches you'll ever eat
They’ve been called the best thing since sliced bread. Max ‘The Sandwich Man’ Halley claims he knows the secret to creating perfection between two slices of bread.
He’s here to wow us in the kitchen today, with his towering sandwich creations.
Ham, egg 'n' chips gourmet sandwich
What’s in the sandwich?
Focaccia (or you can use any bread of your choice, shop-bought ciabatta is great)
Slow-cooked ham hocks
Piccalilli
1 fried egg
Shoestring fries
Malt vinegar mayo
Ingredients
For the slow-cooked ham hock:
2 x ½ kg unsmoked ham hocks
3 celery stalks cut into 3 pieces each
2 carrots unpeeled, split in half
1 large white onion, peeled and cut in half
75ml cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
Leftover wine - red or white
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsps whole black peppercorns
1 bunch parsley
6 bay leaves
For the Shoestring Fries
200g potatoes, like Maris Pipers
2 litres rapeseed oil
For the Malt Vinegar Mayo:
2 tbsp of mayonnaise
1 tbsp malt vinegar (add more or less to your taste)
Method
For the slow-cooked ham hock: In a large saucepan, put the bunch of parsley at the bottom and place the ham hocks, celery, carrots and onion and bay leaves on top. Cover with the cider vinegar, and the wine/cider and enough water to submerge the meat.
Lob in the coriander seed and peppercorns. Cover with baking paper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain the gentlest simmer and cook for 1 ½ hours, or until the ham falls easily off the bone (sometimes can take a bit longer).
Drain, reserving the liquid
When the ham is cool enough to handle, pick it from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Put the meat in a bowl and pour the reserved liquid onto the meat just enough to cover it (this will turn into jelly when it’s been in the fridge).
For the Shoestring Fries: Slice or mandolin the potatoes into the smallest and neatest little matchsticks you can achieve. You do not want these to be any thicker than 2-3mm.
Submerge into ice-cold water and agitate with your hands for a minute
Leave to soak for at least 10 minutes before moving into a colander or sieve to drain and dry out a bit. You want them to be in here drying for at least half an hour.
After half an hour heat the rapeseed oil to 190c and drop the potato sticks in the hot oil in small batches and fry until they become golden brown shoestring fries
Place on some paper towel and season with salt. Repeat until you have a pile of perfectly crisp matchsticks.
Unsalted, these are The Sandwich Shops most faithful crisp. Providing the crunch to our wonderful Ham, Egg n Chips since day one!
For the Malt Vinegar Mayo: Mix your shop-bought mayo with your vinegar - add more or less to your taste.
Building your sandwich: Spread the mayonnaise on to each slice of bread. Top with ham hock, piccalilli, fried egg, top with a generous amount of shoestring fries, put the top on and tuck in!
The Bhaji Smuggler
Ingredients
Focaccia
Meera’s Coriander, green chilli & peanut chutney
Pomegranate molasses
Nigella seeds
Carrot bhajis
Lime pickled onions
Parsley, mint and coriander
Bombay mix
For the carrot bhajis
200g plain or gram flour
1 tbsp mixed spices (or 1tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp turmeric)
1 tsp salt
1 red onion, sliced
200g/ 3 carrots
250 ml sparkling water, cold
2 litres rapeseed oil
For the lime pickled onions
1 red onion, finely sliced
Juice of 1 lime
½ tsp salt
For Meera’s Coriander, green chilli & peanut chutney
1 small pack of coriander, leaves picked and stalks chopped
60g salted peanuts (not roasted)
2 decent green chillies sliced up (or 2 tbsps of jalapeno slices)
Juice of 2 limes
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp full-fat yoghurt
To serve: a few sprigs of coriander, mint and parsley
Method
For the carrot bhajis
Add the flour to a bowl and add the spices, add the salt, and mix together. Start slowly adding the water whisking as you add it. Keep adding the water until you have a single cream consistency.
Next, add the sliced onions and grated carrots to the batter. Mix it with your hand and leave it to sit for a minute.
Heat the rapeseed oil in a deep fat fryer to 180c and transfer tight handfuls of the mix into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and then drain on paper.
For the lime pickled onions
Put the sliced onion in a bowl, squeeze over the lime and add the salt and mix well then cover with cling film and allow to sit for at least 3 hours
For Meera’s Coriander, green chilli & peanut chutney
Add the coriander stalks, peanuts, ground turmeric, green chillies and sugar to a food processor and blitz
Add the lime juice and the coriander leaves and blitz until you have a cohesive nutty looking sauce
Mix in the yoghurt
Decant into a jar or bottle and store in the fridge
To build the sandwich
Top both sides of your bread with the coriander chutney, and a sprinkle of nigella seeds, then drizzle some pomegranate molasses over one slice
Top with a generous amount of carrot bhaji, pickle, coriander, mint and parsley and finally a good handful of Bombay Mix (or London Mix)
Pop the top on and enjoy!
An ice cream sandwich
Ingredients
Sliced brioche or white sliced bread, toasted
Lashings of ice cream, taken from the pot in slithers with a spoon not balls
Biscuit spread
½ tsp malt powder
Leftover nuts, crushed or biscuit crumbs
Salt
Pomegranate molasses
Method
Get the ice cream out 5-10 minutes before serving, make the toast too because you want it cold by the time you make the sandwich
Spread both slices of toast with the biscuit spread followed by a generous covering of ice cream
Sprinkle over the malt powder and crushed nuts, etc all over the ice cream with the faintest sprinkle of salt
Drizzle over the pomegranate molasses and pop the lid on. Slice in half and eat.