Whether it's a wrap or a panini, on a baguette or a bun, nearly every culture has recognized that there's something to be said about putting the perfect combination of ingredients on bread. Here are six recipes for hearty sandwiches from a variety of cuisines that make for delicious and easy dinners, brought to you by the spirited home cooks' community at Food52.
• If you're especially ambitious, bake your own bread using one of these recipes from Food52.
• If french fries are your go-to sandwich side, try a Southwestern variation or thick-cut Greek Mahogany Potatoes.
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Shrimp and Chorizo Sandwich by amanda
I'm either incredibly lazy or just addicted to my laptop. Once I get settled in at the food52 office, I have a hard time breaking from my daily three-part fix -- Twitter, Chartbeat, and my in-box -- to walk more than 5 blocks for lunch. Which is reason 397 why I love our new office. We're close to Taralucci e Vino, Eataly, and a great Korean soup place, and we're just a few steps from 'wichcraft, Tom Colicchio's sandwich chain, where I've tasted nearly everything on the menu. One item that I like to have as a warm-up to the peanut butter creamwich is the shrimp-and-chorizo sandwich with aioli. Multiple, focused "tastings" have allowed me to decipher the sandwich's ingredients -- shrimp, chorizo, garlic mayonnaise, scallion, and arugula -- and reassemble it in my kitchen. - Amanda
Serves 2
1 pound small or medium shrimp, peeled
1/2 cup dried chorizo (I use Palacios), cut into 1/8-inch cubes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 large clove garlic, crushed and chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 small scallions, thinly sliced
2 handfuls baby arugula
4 ciabatta or kaiser rolls
1. Bring a medium saucepan filled with heavily salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Let the shrimp rest in the water for 3 minutes, then cut into one shrimp to see if it's cooked -- it should be just cooked and still springy. If they're cooked, drain and rinse the shrimp under cold water for 15 seconds (to cool them just slightly). If not, let them continue poaching until cooked through. Slice the cooked shrimp into 1/4-inch pieces.
2. Meanwhile, cut the chorizo -- I like to cut it into quarters lengthwise, and then crosswise into 1/8-inch slices.
3. Make the aioli: in a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon (feel free to add more lemon, and salt, if desired).
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the shrimp, chorizo, scallions, and half the aioli. Fold together. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more aioli as needed.
5. Slice open the rolls. Spoon on the shrimp salad. Top with arugula and the top halves of the rolls. Pack up in your lunch box!
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This recipe comes from Serious Eats by Ed Levine. - Amanda
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Flank Steak on Texas Toast with Chimichurri
This sandwich is a real two-hander -- juicy and garlicky and fragrant. In an inspired move, sdebrango has you make one big batch of chimichurri, which both marinates the steak and also gets swirled in to flavor the quickie aioli. Her steak prep technique -- marinate, then dry brine -- made for one of the best steaks we've had lately, and the resulting sandwich shines because of it (the ripe tomatoes, buttery Texas toast, and aioli help too). Note: In divvying up the chimichurri, we scooped out mostly garlic and herbs to add to the mayo and held back on the oil so it didn't get too runny, and we were very happy. Very. - Amanda & Merrill
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Yum Dogs
What's more suited to street eating than a hot dog? Not much. Vvvanessa has elevated her dog to a higher plane, first swathing it in bacon, then nestling it on a bed of tangy, spicy beansprout slaw. The sprouts are softened into submission with a handy salting technique, then tossed with sweet shredded carrot, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno and rice wine vinegar. The acid in the slaw cuts through the salt and the fattiness of the hot dog, and a sriracha-laced mayo stands in for more quotidien condiments. A shower of roasted peanuts and some chopped scallions make this Yum Dog as pretty as it is tasty. - Amanda & Merrill
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Sautéed Kale, Roasted Sweet Potato, & Poached Egg Holiday Toast
Chunks of sweet potato roasted in a little maple syrup, and kale wilted with onion and shallot make a nest for a soft poached egg, and all of this perches atop a chunky slice of toast layered with tangy pecorino. When you cut into the egg, the yolk becomes a silky sauce for all of the other elements. - Amanda & Merrill
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Tuna Burgers with Wasabi Ginger Mayo
Recently, I dug out a recipe for tuna burgers that I used to make all the time. I came across the original recipe in a Williams-Sonoma cookbook called Fresh & Light and fell in love with its clean, fresh flavors. Chopped sushi-grade tuna is mixed with fresh ginger and scallions, molded into patties, pan fried and then topped with cucumber, sprouts and a zippy pickled ginger and wasabi-infused mayonnaise. Instead of stopping at medium-rare, I like to cook the burgers just through -- I find that a little bit of heat makes the ginger and scallions really sing. - Merrill
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