The 10th to the 16th of May is British Sandwich Week here in the UK. We Brits do love our sandwiches!  I don't think there is a shop here in the UK that you can't buy some kind of ready made sandwich in, even if it's only a Bacon or a Sausage Bap.   Sandwiches are the lunch of choice for millions and I think it's really great that we devote a whole week each year to celebrating that fact of deliciousness!

 

Sandwich week is coming up from the 19th to the 25th May and what better way to celebrate it than enjoying a good old fashioned picnic!  We British love picnics and we love sandwiches.  Combining the two together puts us right in our element!

The Unilever Kitchen recently sent me a sandwich hamper containing a variety of flavour packed sauces and condiments to use in creating some delicious sandwiches including . . .



A nice jar of my favourite mayonnaise Hellman's, along with a variety of Hellmann's Mayonnaise flip top containers in A Zing of Lemon,  A Spark of Chili, A Touch of Garlic,  A Twist of Pepper and A Hit of Caramelized Onion.   I love, LOVE these flip top bottles.  They are convenient to use and to carry about in picnic baskets and for al fresco dining!  Easy to use and easy to enjoy!

  

Also included were a variety of the Colman's sauces in flip tops (their new Fiery BBQ Chilli sauce as well as their new Chunky Burger Sauce) and some good old fashioned Coleman's English Mustard (the Toddster's favourite) and a jar of their grainy mustard.

The challenge was to enjoy some of these sauces and condiments and make good use of them for Sandwich week 2014.

 

The British are real sandwich lovers, which is why you will see in the shops (even newsagents) no end of variety of ready made sandwiches for purchase.   I have often found however  (with the exception of the ones from M&S), they are usually very disappointing, dry, dull, tasteless and half empty.  It is so much better to make and take your own!

 

Easy and more delicious.   Making your own sandwiches doesn't really take a lot of effort or time.  There are a few rules I like to follow however, which help to make sure that my sandwiches are the tastiest on the block.  And now yours can be too!

• Spread any sandwich which is going to have a wet filling generously with butter, and right to the edges, so as to prevent any sogginess.
• Use a sturdy bread which will hold up to the journey and standing for several hours.
• Spread the filling generously and to the edge. Helps to prevent dry corners from being discarded in the trash later on.
• Cut in half so that you have rectangles. This shape is a lot easier to pack and a lot easier to eat out of hand.
• Wrap well in greaseproof paper (wax paper) or cling film to help keep them fresh and store in a sturdy container to help keep them from becoming crushed.
• Don't forget the napkins. If you have followed my advice and generously filled them, you will quite happily need them!  

These are the easiest and the tastiest of picnic sandwiches.   They are simply layers of meat and cheese and vegetables compressed between two layers of crisp chewy Italian Slipper bread, or Ciabatta as it is called.   

I made the most delicious open face sandwich today.   Oh, but I died and went to heaven when I tucked into this.   The "Peat" sandwich . . .  or . ..  the Pancetta, Egg, Avocado and Tomato Sandwich.  A deliciously layered open face delight that isn't really all that bad for you!

Because I have cheated a little bit the past couple of days and given you compendiums of things I have already done I thought I would give you a little bit of a bonus today and throw in an extra taste sensation for you to enjoy!  Food doesn't have to be complicated to be delicious or fun and so today I am going to show you how I make what I consider to be the World's Best Fish Finger Buttie!  (Or sandwich to you North Americans!) 

Sandwich, Sarnie, Buttie, Roll . . . whatever you call it, this has to be one of the easiest and tastiest, all round pleasing sandwiches to make.  The Golden Arches people (No names here) have been peddling essentially what is the same thing for years and years . . . calling it a Filet O Fish . . . but call it what you like . . . it's a fish finger sandwich, except it has  a square fish finger inside



I decided a while back that if I am going to cook something or eat something, I am going to make sure that whatever "something" is . . . I'm going to make it the very best "something" that I can or want to eat!  And that means good ingredients from the start.  No mystery fish here . . . I only use 100% cod  or haddock fish fillets.  I don't want fillers, or other unknowns in my fish.  I want them to be lightly breaded fish.  That's all.  I am not a fan of bluefish, or other types.  I am a fish finger snob.  I also like to use the jumbo fish fingers . . . less breading more fish.  You may not get as many servings from a pack . . . but you won't need as many fingers either, because they're umm . . . bigger!!  There's also less risk of the larger fish fingers being dry.



The other integral part of a Fish Finger Sandwich . . . is the bread.  Some people opt for soft white sandwich bread, others go uber healthy and want a seeded loaf, or a whole grain loaf, or a roll or whatever.  I, myself, like a nice chewy bread and so I opt for a fresh Italian Ciabatta roll., and you want it to be really fresh too, if possible baked today.  That way it's got a nice crust on the outside . . . but is soft and chewy inside.

 

Another reason I like a fresh Ciabatta roll is because they have lots of whole in them . . . lots of little nooks and crannies for the tartar sauce to seep into.  To me that makes a scrummy sarnie, even scrummier!
I like to make my own tartar sauce (recipe here)  but you can use any good quality bottled tartar sauce.  I bang the fish fingers into the oven and while they are baking I will make my tartar sauce and then slice the roll in half with a sharp serrated knife.   Some people spread their rolls with butter.  I don't.  I just spread one half with lots of my homemade tartar sauce and then I scrunch the bottom and the top halves together really well so that some of the tartar sauce oozes onto both side and into all those lovely little holes . . . and then, if I'm feeling especially indulgent I will add a bit more.



I add a nice layer of fresh rocket on the bottom of the roll.  You can use whatever lettuce you like, or no lettuce at all, but I like rocket.  It has a nice bite to it, and it adds colour and flavour.

 

Your fish fingers will be pretty much done now, so turn out the oven (meaning turn it off).  Remove your tray of fish fingers and scrunch them together in groups, roughly the size of the bread or roll you are using, and then lay a nice processed cheese slice on top of  each group.  This is a time when you don't want to opt for a good cheddar or whatever . . . plain old processed cheese is the best to use here because it melts quickly and looks nice and what the heck, it even tastes nice.  Place the tray back into the still warm oven for a few minutes so that the cheese just begins to melt.



Now slide your cheese stacked fish fingers onto that rocket and sauced bottom of your roll, or bread slice or whatever and pop on the top slice.  Give it a little smoosh down . . . just to compact it a tiny bit.  Now you are ready to eat it with a nice gerkin or pickled onion on the side and perhaps a few potato crisps.  (Potato Chips to you North Americans.)

 

Now doesn't that look nice?  Good enough to eat I'd say . . . but I'm going to make it that teensie weensie bit better.  Call me hedonistic or whatever you like but . . .



I'm going to pop a few of those potato crisps in there right on top of those cheese slathered fish fingers and then I'm going to cut the whole thing in half . . .

Just look at all those tasty flavours and textures you have going on there . . . the chewy roll, the creamy and slightly tart sauce . . . snappy rocket,  flaky meaty fingers of fish . . . oozing cheese and the crunch of potato crisps on top.  (I like the salt and malt vinegar hand fried ones myself.  We're not talking too healthy here people.  It's a fish finger sandwich!)



Now that's what I call a perfectly delicious, scrummily tuck-into-able . . . Fish Finger Buttie.  To me, it's the World's Best.  You may have another idea of what makes the world's best . . . butter, ketchup . . . pickled onions, sliced tomatoes.  What would make this sandwich YOUR world's best?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

 

Good Cooking is all about sharing and eating don't you think?