Sandwiches of the world, unite! Discover our favourite sarnies of the moment.
Tom Shingler
12 billion sandwiches are eaten in the UK each and every year. What used to be a last-minute lunch has ascended the ranks of food royalty in recent years, becoming a meal-between-bread that can hold its own against anything served with a knife and fork. Make 2023 the year of the sandwich and start giving this universally loved snack the reverence and attention it deserves.
Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like a sandwich? Doorstops, panini, tortas, sandos, sangers, subs, vada pav, bao, bahn mi – ingredients encased in something wheat-based can be found the world over. Until relatively recently, however, sandwiches in the UK were almost always relegated to lunchtime; something you’d pull together with what you hadin the fridge, or pick up as part of a meal deal at the supermarket during a fleeting work break.
But things are changing in the sandwich world. The new wave of sandwich shops – with all the artisanal, gourmet, locally sourced bells and whistles you’d expect from a restaurant – are giving what they put between bread the same care and consideration a chef would their signature dish. Today a sandwich can take inspiration from a ‘proper’ dish; it can be tongue-in- cheek; it can be – gasp – served hot like a burger (which is just another sandwich really, isn’t it?).
Many modern-day sandwich specialists were inspired by the Japanese katsu sando – the nation’s take on Western-style sandwiches made using sweet and fluffy shokupan (Japanese milk bread) and filled with breaded pork (like a schnitzel), tangy tonkatsu sauce and cabbage. Such a simple thing highlighted how a perfectly balanced sandwich with the right amount of sweetness, saltiness, crunch and softness can be one of the greatest things you can eat.
Did you know...? It wasn’t just the sarnie that was named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich. The Sandwich Islands, in the Pacific, were too. They’re now known as Hawaii.
The growing popularity of sandos kickstarted a wider sandwich revolution in the UK, which is now in full swing. The mayo-heavy supermarket meal deal or a Pret baguette is no longer the pinnacle of sandwich innovation; making a sandwich for dinner no longer sounds like something you’d only do when you’re too tired to cook. So join us in the sandwich revolution and embrace the endless possibilities of what you can put between two bits of bread.
Five mega sandwich recipes to get you ready for picnic season
Coronation egg sando
Give good old egg mayo the sando treatment to create something far superior, then elevate it to the stratosphere with coronation chicken flavours. With mango chutney for sweetness, chilli for heat, herbs for freshness and bombay mix for crunch, it renders cress – egg mayo’s usual partner – obsolete.
Gammon schnitzel and pineapple sandwich
Pineapple and piccalilli are gammon’s best friends, so we’ve combined the two to create a knockout sauce. The salty crunch of the schnitzel, the sweet sharpness of the piccalilli and the fresh hitof tomatoes and watercress are a tough-to-beat combo – and tiger bread adds a nutty note to keep it all in check.
We’ve combined two classic prawn dishes to create this killer sandwich. All the classic ingredients of a prawn cocktail go in there but, in the style of Louisiana’s shrimp po’ boy, we’ve deep-fried the prawns – using an extra-crispy coating of smashed-up prawn cocktail crisps for double the flavour.
This mega lamb sandwich nods to the Greek dish moussaka. With a rich tomato and garlic sauce as the base, layers of roasted aubergine and spiced lamb, a minty yogurt and crunchy potato sticks, this is a bit of a project sandwich – but well worth the effort.
Pea fritter and halloumi focaccia
A fritter is one of the best things you can put in a sarnie, especially when using a fluffy bread like focaccia. It’s hot, crunchy and soft, and you can add whatever you like to the batter mixture. We’ve gone for minty peas here, which pair perfectly with golden fried halloumi and a quick ketchup made zingy with capers and sweet with raisins.
The anatomy of a sandwich
When planning your own sandwich fillings, getting the right balance of flavours and textures is key…
Bread
Different breads produce different sandwiches. Fluffy white and brioches are sweet with a pillowy texture; sourdough and rustic wholegrain loaves are firmer and stand out flavour-wise. Focaccia and ciabatta have pockets – great for soaking up sauces, while crusty baguettes and rolls add salty crunch.
Texture
The importance of crunch in a sandwich cannot be understated. It’s why we love crisps either in or alongside our sandwich, but it’s an often overlooked element in the world of sandwich building. Crunch can come from something fried, fresh vegetables or even the bread itself.
Sauce
Absolutely no one wants a dry sandwich – it’s why we butter the bread or add plenty of mayo. Just make sure the amount of sauce coats everything nicely without turning your sandwich into a sloppy mess.
Tang
Acidity is a key component of cooking and it’s the same in a sandwich – the vinegar in mayo, a few pickles or a lemony dressing create vital contrast to the more savoury elements in the mix. Don’t leave this part out!
Find all our sandwich recipes in one convenient place, here.
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