Use your loaf

Everyone has something that riles them up; for some it's the Government, for others it's London Underground, for me, it's poorly made sandwiches. Get's my blood boiling.

This weekend I decided to head to Borough Market. It's been a long time since I've visited and fancied a day out. As ever, it did not disappoint, and it's bustling lanes of vendors selling all things bright and wonderful certainly burnt a whole in my purse! So far so good. It was only on the way back home my husband and I decided to pop into a local Moroccan styled deli that things went horribly wrong. While my hubbie set his sights on a chicken, couscous and humous lunch box, I was feeling a little full so I decided to stick to a sandwich- my favourite Prawn and Avocado. We sat ourselves down. The chicken got sent over, and as I looked at the veritable feast that my husband had chosen, I braced myself for my sandwich. It was sent over. White bread. No mayo. Barely any filling. As I picked up this sad looking thing, all of my prawns fell out, and the pathetic shavings of avocado dropped out revealing their oxidised brown flesh. I reached for a fork and pulled Shan's chicken plate in the middle. I was seething. 

Why are so many sandwiches made so badly? And more importantly, what makes a good sandwich? 

1. For me, number one is the bread to filling ratio. Most bad sandwiches I've had often do not add enough filling, and rely too much on a heavy set bread. No. What we want is a 2:1 ratio where the filling is double the bread slice thickness. 

2. Good bread. We also do not want a overpowering slice. What we want is a slice that will serve to hold the filling well, but not take anything away from the flavour of the filling. I personally hate white bread. As well as being tremendously bad for you (Why white bread is bad), it really doesn't taste of anything, so always go for a wholewheat alternative. You don't have to go for an all guns granary blazing loaf, but just not white! Trust me, your sandwich experience will benefit from this!

3. Last, but certainly not least, we want a good filling. Never under estimate what a little consideration to your filling will do for the taste. Take very basic flavours- tuna, egg, cheese. Instead of just adding mayo, take a little time to add a slice of red onion, or bird chilli or rocket. Be wary of adding items with high water content such as cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce as they can make your sandwich soggy. If you're not going to eat it straight away then remove the seeded areas and dry out before adding.

Here's one of my favourite sandwiches: Sunday Roaster. It came about one Christmas very long ago, when my brother and I fancied a midnight sandwich. I piled together all of the ingredients we had left over from lunch, and was one of the best sandwiches I had ever eaten!

To make 1 sandwich

Ingredients

1. 1 Chicken thigh (or any dark meat area)

2. 2 stuffing balls

3. 1/2 parnsip

4. 1/4 cup peas

5. 1 tbsp mayonnaise