A weekend sandwich battle

Early this week I got a text saying: “Let’s have a sandwich battle this weekend. I make a sandwich, you make a sandwich. We split them and decide who made the better one.” This was truly the type of message I want to receive every week. A food challenge, I’m in. I’m sure Ian was more determined in eating a sandwich but I appreciate the game of it all. He knew who he was battling with.

I suggested we set some ground rules or the competition wouldn’t be as fair. He probably has more experience making sandwiches as it has never been my go to meal, but I understand ingredient and techniques better. Also, if we made out favourite sandwich and battled each other, who would win? Probably both of us since we both get to eat favourite sandwiches, but this is a competition after all. 

Caprese sandwiches are my favourite, they can be light, soft and flavourful. Cheese, tomato and basil, what is there not to like?. I hold them closely to my heart. I always judge a coffee shop that doesn’t have it, or worst, they have it but they add chicken. Why would you ruin a perfect combination? 

My sandwich of choice was clear, but unfortunately, if we set ground rules to make it even, I wouldn’t have be able to make it. Ian is not a fan of tomatoes. A Caprese sandwich with no tomatoes goes to the same level of a Caprese sandwich with chicken. There is no place in my house for those.

Saturday arrived and it was clear we weren’t going to set ground rules. Why would we make a sandwich if it wasn’t our favourite. So we headed to the grocery store to buy some ingredients. My plan was set. From the other side of the store I could hear my contender saying: “Maybe I’ll get some chicken?” “Oh I could make a spicy mayo”. His combinations did sound appetizing but my ingredients were more cohesive, which did give me a clear advantage.

Before going into the execution of our lunch, here are the ingredients for both sandwiches so you can choose your own winner.

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Ian’s sandwich

• Ciabatta bread

• Deli smoked chicken

• Swiss cheese (melted)

• Garlic mayo (mayo, fresh garlic, salt, lemon)

• Lettuce

• German mustard

Ian’s battle submission

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Luisa’s sandwich

• Ciabatta bread

• Fresh mozzarella

• Cherry tomatoes (because Ian’s doesn’t like Roma tomatoes)

• Fresh basil

• Lettuce

• Basil mayo (mayo, basil paste, fresh garlic, lemon, salt, pepper)

• Salt

• Olive oil

Luisa’s battle submission

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The techniques where fairly similar. There isn’t that much exploration you can do when making a sandwich, I would say. Ian warmed up his sandwich with the chicken, melted the cheese and warmed up both side. I put some olive oil in the middle and just toasted the top. I wanted my bread to keep the softness in the middle so it could absorb the mayo. 

Both sandwiches hit our craving and worked fairly well together. We added a side of potato wedges for common ground. We both agreed on the winner at the end and funnily enough it was the half we both left to eat last. Overall I was pretty confident with my sandwich but Ian did  make me nervous with his melted cheese and fancy mayo. My sandwich did flow better overall and that’s why it got first place. 

The future holds many more competitions, I suspect. A classic sandwich battle is a great way to start. This made me realize how much a love and miss a great Caprese sandwiches and making food with great people.

What is your favourite sandwich? What would be your recipe submission to our contest?

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I have exciting news to share: You can now read Ice Cream for Lunch in the new Substack app for iPhone.