Enjoy a tasty spring with filling sandwiches

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:54 JST, April 19, 2022

Spring has come, and what could be better than some beautiful sandwiches to celebrate the season?

While probably still not the right time for a picnic in a big group, a sandwich is an easy meal for a bento boxed lunch or a quick lunch and snack when working from home amid the pandemic.

“You can put a lot of different ingredients in sandwiches, meaning you can achieve perfect nutritional balance,” said cooking expert Miyuki Shimamoto who authored a recipe book introducing sandwiches around the world. “Using leftovers from the fridge also helps prevent food waste.”

Shimamoto shared recipes for three kinds of sandwiches, starting with an easy hot sandwich. It can be made without using a hot-sandwich maker, as long as the sandwich is pressed with a turner on the pan to let the bread surface absorb butter and become crispy.

Hot sandwich with fried egg

Ingredients (Serves 1):

2 bread slices (from a 6-slice loaf)

1 egg

10 grams butter

½ tbsp tomato ketchup

1 cheese slice

2 ham slices

1 lettuce leaf

1 tsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil over medium heat. Crack an egg into the pan. Leave for about 2 minutes and turn over to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes over low heat. Take it out.

2. Spread ketchup on one side of each piece of bread, then put cheese, ham, fried egg and torn lettuce on top in that order. Place the second piece of bread on top. Other vegetables, such as cucumber, can be used instead of lettuce.

3. Heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat, place the sandwich on top, press it down with a turner and cook both sides until golden brown. Cut it in half and serve.

The Monte Cristo sandwich was born in North America and is said to have originated in Canada. It is filling and a good brunch or breakfast item. Its sweet and salty flavor is appetizing.

The Monte Cristo sandwich

Ingredients (Serves 1):

2 bread slices (from a 6-slice loaf)

2 ham slices

2 cheese slices

10 grams butter

1 egg

100 ml milk

1 tbsp sugar

Maple syrup, honey or berry jam

Powdered sugar, as preferred

Directions:

1. Place cheese and ham alternately on a slice of bread and finish with another slice of bread.

2. Put an egg, milk and sugar in a tray and mix it well. Soak both sides of the bread for at least 15 minutes. Soaking overnight makes the bread soft.

3. Heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat and put in the soaked bread to cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until browned.

4. Cut it in half, put it on a plate, pour maple syrup and sprinkle powdered sugar on it, as preferred.

If a baked sandwich is not eaten right away — such as when put into a lunch box — it should be wrapped with aluminum foil so that its flavors can be preserved.

The last recipe is for a pocket sandwich using colorful fruits — this time strawberry and kiwifruit — that can be good for dessert and is fun to make with kids.

The pockets keep the cream inside the bread. Shimamoto recommends cutting the fruits into bite-size pieces. The fruits inside can be changed according to the season, for example a melon and watermelon in summer and chestnuts and a persimmon in autumn.

Pocket fruit sandwich

Ingredients (Serves 1):

1 bread slice (from a 4-slice loaf)

Any fruit

Whipped cream

Directions:

1. Cut a piece of bread in half and then make a pocket by making an incision on the cross section to each piece.

2. Remove the stem of a strawberry and cut it in half horizontally. Cut a kiwifruit into four equal pieces.

3. Fill the bread pocket with whipped cream and stuff cut fruits into it.

Shimamoto said it is still good even if it doesn’t look neat because it then takes on the feel of a homemade dish. “It’s good as long as the sandwich makes your time at home enjoyable,” she said.