Sunday, 17 August 2014

El Cubano Sandwich by El Jefe

So I reciently got a chance to watch an indie film called "Chef". I hadn't heard much about it so I check out a few reviews & it seemed positive. I noticed that most of the reviewers were stressing how good the food was ( I guess that's the real star of the movie ). I decided to hunt down the details for the main dish in the film, a toasted Cuban sandwich called El Cubano (apparently very popular in the Miami area). I found a lot of different recipes but the main ingredients were always the same. 

Main Ingredients 

Large baguette or other nice bread
Thin sliced roast ham (6 slices)
Thin sliced dill pickles (12 slices)
Good quality roasted pork (12 slices)
Swiss cheese (6 slices) 
Mustard (whatever type is your favorite)
Melted butter (for brushing) 

(I marinated & roasted my own pork which obviously adds a lot of extra work to the sandwich, but I'm sure if you buy a good quality sliced pork from your deli counter it will taste just as good)

The Steps

Heat up your sandwich press to a medium heat, then add the ham & pork. Cook, turning once, until warmed & browned in spots. About 1 minute. When done transfer to a plate. 

Slice open your baguette and generously butter the insides with your melted butter. Toast them on your press until a light brown colour. When done transfer them to your work surface. 

Layer the bottom of the bread in the following order, pork, ham, cheese & pickles. Add your mustard of choice to the inside top of the bread then close the sandwich. 

Generously butter the outside of your sandwich (top & bottom). Place your sandwich on the hot press. Cook until the cheese is melted & the outsides are browned & crispy (about 3 minutes). 

Let your sandwich stand for 1 minute before cutting. Serve hot!
Makes 6 portions. 


I'd also recommend checking out the soundtrack from the film. It's avalible on Spotify. (Don't forget to have a little dance to the music while making this tasty sandwich)


;)