Lunch » The Saucy Coq

Pesto & Red Pepper Jelly Sandwich

My fiancee used to tell me that she didn’t like sandwiches. To me, that’s a bit like not liking drinks or music or recess. There’s got to be some kind of sandwich you can dream up that would get you going. Start with your favorite meal, slap it between two pieces of bread, and call it a night.

I, on the other hand, love sandwiches. I rarely make veggie sandwiches, but this one is a gem. If you do require your daily dose of meat, a decent Ham is the best way to go here.

Pesto & Pepper Jelly Sandwich - Makes 2-3

Your favourite bread, preferably thinly sliced
Heaping spoonful of basil pecan pesto
Cream cheese
Cottage cheese (~8 ounces)
Red pepper or jalapeno jelly
Sprouts (alfalfa or broccoli)
Banana peppers
Salt and pepper to taste

Despite her aversion, Kate made a sandwich like this last year, loosely based on a sandwich from a Montreal restaurant. I’ve made it a bunch of times since then and it’s great every time.

You can use whatever kind of bread you like for this sandwich, but I prefer a thinly sliced bread that is toasted well to contrast the soft texture of the ingredients. While the bread is toasting, fold together the pesto and the cottage cheese. When ready, spread the cream cheese on one slice of toast, the red pepper jelly (available at most large grocery stores near the jars of peppers) on the other and top with pesto-cottage cheese mixture. I finished the sandwich with broccoli sprouts (alfalfa sprouts are great too) and some sliced banana peppers for extra kick.

If you want to take the sandwich to go, you’ll need to make sure the bread/toast doesn’t get soggy. So, use lettuce to line the toast before piling on the rest of the ingredients.

Serve with a good dill pickle and chips to make it a meal.

ANYDAY POACHED EGGS ON TOAST AND VEG (CHEDDAR DOESN’T HURT)

When I was the much younger, much pickier kid I’ve already told you about, one thing I did happen to like was eggs. I loved when I’d get ‘treated’ to poached eggs. For some reason, I remember having them only for special occasions, but it was most likely just a weekend. Special enough of an occasion. It’s probably because, even now, I think of poached eggs as a rather ‘decadent’ way of eating eggs.

We used to have one of those egg poaching pans. This shallow, light-weight aluminum pan with three round plastic eggs cups inside. Boil an inch of water, drop the eggs in, put the lid on, and wait five minutes. The lid would come off the pan and undoubtedly burn me.

Now, I don’t have one of those crafty pans. And, I don’t want one. The eggs come out resembling something like an Egg McMuffin. More importantly, there’s no room in the kitchen for another piece of niche cookware.

Poaching eggs is very easy and you can have them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, high tea, supper, dinner and midnight snack. So, learn to make them properly.

Poached Eggs on French Bread and Sauteed Veg

Serves One

2 large eggs
3 cups water
1 tbsp white vinegar
Pinch of salt
Ice
French Baguette

Add a couple inches of water, enough to cover the eggs, and a pinch of salt to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. While the water heats up, crack your eggs in to separate, small bowls to avoid breaking the yolks when you add the eggs to the water.

Once the water is boiling, add the vinegar and turn the element down until you have a slow simmer going in the water. If the water is too hot and boiling too fast, your eggs will break. Next, add the vinegar to the water. Vinegar helps the egg to hold its shape by causing the outer layer of the egg white to congeal faster. Otherwise you’ll get a web of white egg in your water. Personally, I actually like the taste of a bit of vinegar on my poached eggs, and have even added tarragon vinegar before for a bit of a twist. Recommended.

I like to give the water a spin with a spoon before I drop the eggs in. Literally. Just start moving the water around in a circle until there’s a little eddy in the middle. Then, drop your eggs in one at a time. The spinning water helps to further bring the egg whites together giving you nice, firm balls (ahem).

Most people like hard egg whites and a soft yolk, which takes about 6 minutes with this method. But, I generally just judge by feeling the egg. Lift one out with a slotted spoon at about 5 minutes and give it a little squeeze. It’ll be easy to tell how cooked the egg is. BUT, the most important part of this process to remember is that the eggs will continue to cook once you take them out. So, remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place in to an ice bath when they’re to your liking to stop the cooking.

I happened to have some veggies (zucchini, asparagus, onion) that I BBQ’d with herb oil left over from the night before. I brushed some baguette slices with a bit of olive oil, toasted them in the oven, and topped the toast with the veggies and put the eggs on top. A few shavings of sharp cheddar, some cracked black pepper and some Hawaiian black salt, and, goodnight sweetheart.