Cuisine – In praise of the sandwich

Whether it’s a cocktail party, morning tea, finger luncheon or just a simple gathering of friends over a cuppa, you can’t go wrong with a sandwich. If the call goes out for the good old Kiwi ‘bring a plate’, it’s a sure bet that freshly made sandwiches will go down a treat and be the first platter to be cleaned up.

Everybody loves a really good sandwich – something I wish cafés would cotton on to. How often do you go to a café and are daunted by the humongous size of the food in the cabinet, when all you want is just a small bite to go with your morning coffee?

Perhaps of all the things I ever prepared for my mother, to tempt her to eat in her final years, asparagus rolls were her favourite. When new season’s asparagus arrived in the stores, I would prepare about eight dainty little rolls and take them to her and her friend in the next room at the care home, and they would adore them. Easy to eat in the fingers and always delicious.

A classic New Zealand treat, asparagus rolls are usually made with tinned asparagus, but are superb when made with the abundant fresh asparagus currently in season. If you’re making asparagus rolls ahead, cover them with plastic wrap and then put a very damp clean tea towel round them. They will stay moist for up to six hours.

The other sure-to-please is a good old ham and egg club sandwich. This may be the best ham and egg sandwich you have ever had; white or wholemeal bread, layered with good ham and mustard, and the other half, a delicious savoury egg mixture. You can cut them as shown into a dainty size, or into more chunky rectangles. But if making any sandwiches ahead, be sure to keep them moist with damp paper towels and tightly covered cling film wrap.

Note: There are 21 slices of bread (excluding crusts) in a sandwich cut loaf. If you can find it, the Oatilicious bread is my favourite as it has more body and flavour than the standard white sliced loaf.

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Best ever ham and egg sandwiches

1 loaf thin-cut white sandwich bread
½ cup mayonnaise (I like to use
Best Foods brand)
6 free range eggs
1 tsp mustard powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
300g shaved or sliced free range ham
2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Make the egg filling by plunging the eggs into rapidly boiling water to cook for 8 minutes. Immediately remove and plunge into icy cold water to cool rapidly.

Peel the eggs and place in a bowl. Use a potato masher to crush the eggs and add the mustard powder, salt and pepper, 4-5 tablespoons of mayonnaise and the parsley. Mix well so the eggs are well mashed and not too chunky.

Divide the egg in to seven portions and spread over seven pieces of the bread. Top each with a second slice.

Lightly spread the upper side of these pieces of bread with Dijon mustard and then divide the ham into seven portions and place them on the mustard spread bread.

Finally spread the remaining seven slices of bread with mayonnaise and press lightly onto the ham.

Take a very sharp knife and cut the crusts off each side of each sandwich.

Cut each sandwich into three fingers or four squares and line them up on a sandwich plate. Cover with cling film wrap and then with a wet tea towel until ready to serve. Makes 21 sandwiches.

Fresh asparagus rolls

20 thick spears fresh asparagus
20 slices of white or wholemeal ‘sandwich cut’ bread
½ cup mayonnaise (home-made or Best brand)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, finely grated zest only

Set a large pan of salted water on the heat and bring to the boil. Trim and peel the stalky ends of asparagus, and plunge the spears into the boiling water. Allow to simmer for three minutes, then remove from the heat and drain under gently running cold water so the asparagus cools rapidly and retains the bright green colour.

Cut the crusts from each slice of bread with a very sharp knife so you get a clean edge. Spread each slice generously with the mayonnaise. Sprinkle plenty of salt and pepper over the mayonnaise. Grate the lemon zest on top and place a spear of asparagus in the centre of the bread slices. Roll up each slice around the asparagus.

To finish you can either lay these asparagus rolls on a sandwich plate, or if you’d like them to be a bit more delicate and bite-sized, you can cut each roll into half. Makes 20 or 40 rolls.