A well-made sandwich is a superb thing and not so easy to find in the world, despite the fact that so-called panini seem to be all too available everywhere. Why is it so difficult to get a good sandwich? So many are too complicated or slapped together, ill-considered.
If, for instance, you happen to be in Paris, you can still walk into nearly any bar and get a simple ham sandwich on a fresh baguette, and it will somehow be just right. Fresh bread, good butter, good ham. That’s it. If you want mustard or cornichons, they’ll be served on the side. This is where a pre-made, plastic-wrapped sandwich goes wrong. A flawless sandwich must be built to order, quickly but perfectly. Not piled with lettuce, tasteless tomatoes, or sprouts and whatever else. Just simple. The sort of simplicity you get in Italy with prosciutto on a roll, or in Spain with jamón. If you crave something more complex, head for a Vietnamese neighbourhood for a banh mi – a stellar sandwich with an Asian sensibility that adds strips of lightly pickled carrot and cucumber, and hot green chilli.
Makes 1
baguette 1
butter
cooked ham or jambon de pays
Split the baguette, butter it generously, lay on the ham. Et voilà!
From Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis (Artisan Books)
