Tuesday 29 July 2014

Egg And Cress Tea Sandwiches



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Creamy, wholesome and peppery fresh.  That's how I would describe this sandwich. I know of a few people who can eat a sizeable amount of these sandwiches whenever I make them.







EGG AND CRESS TEA SANDWICHES                               


Prep:

25 minutes
Cook:
5 minutes
Inactive:
5 + 20 minutes
Level:
Easy
Makes:
8 finger sandwiches
Oven Temperature:
-
Can recipe be doubled?
Yes
Make ahead?
Yes, a day ahead, well covered in the refrigerator.


Ingredients

1 Tablespoons diced onions

Dice them as tiny as you can manage. (Omit this if you must but it does give the sandwich an extra crunch and flavour.)

4 boiled eggs

1/2 cup lightly packed watercress/cress (the more tender leaves are found at the top ends) OR 1/2 cup of radish sprouts (use top 1"[2.5 cm] and snip into two 1/2" [1.25 cm] pieces) plus extra for those who like more of it

'Lightly packed' means you do not press down on the leaves as you pile it into the measuring cup. 

I have trouble getting hold of watercress/cress. I prefer to use radish sprouts. In my supermarket it comes in a conveniently sized (4 oz) 100 g punnet. I just snip off the top 1" into 2 and I am done. I save the bottom stems for salads. It has an almost similar peppery taste to watercress so I'd quite happily substitute that for watercress/cress.


Find out what to do with leftover radish sprouts at the bottom of this post under 'Tips'.


1 Tablespoons mayonnaise

1 Tablespoons light sour cream

When I use all mayonnaise to bind the ingredients, the sandwich becomes cloyingly heavy for my taste. I found that using half light sour cream and half mayonnaise lightens up the sandwich. What to do with the remaining tub of sour cream though? Read under 'Tips'. 

8 slices of sandwich bread

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt 

Butter for buttering

Directions

Sprinkle a good pinch of salt and fine grain sugar over diced onions. This helps the onions to lose some of its sharpness and flavours it at the same time. They will start to weep. Set aside for 5 minutes. Transfer onto kitchen paper towels. Gently pat and press on them until dry. Set aside.

Chop up the eggs into small dice or use an egg slicer to slice it length and breadth wise. I do not mash it up as it will get mushier once you start incorporating all the other ingredients. Set aside.




With a spoon, mix light sour cream, mayonnaise, pepper and salt. Gently mix in chopped eggs. Fold in onions and watercress/cress/radish sprouts. Set aside.

Lay out the 8 slices of bread and butter them thinly but well covered.

Distribute the egg mixture on 4 slices of buttered bread. If you like more greens like I do, this is the time to strewn some over the egg mixture. Cover with the remaining 4 slices of bread.

For easier slicing, cover sandwiches well in an airtight container and refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Remove from refrigerator, trim crusts and slice into 2 finger sandwiches. You will have 8 finger sandwiches.

Serve on a pretty tray.

Tips

What to do with the leftover greens?
  • Use in a salad
  • Use in pesto
This will require a separate post to properly run through a pesto recipe.  For those of you who are deft in the kitchen, you already know what to do, so just work with a ratio that you are happy with. It does make a nice change to ordinary pesto. I use just the leaves.
  • Use in an omelette
It was a delicious dinner.
Recipe for 1 person: 2 eggs beaten with 1 Tablespoon water, pepper and salt to taste. 1/2 cup of leftover greens, 1/4 cup of shredded cheese, 1 Tablespoon butter. Warm up butter in a pan, add eggs, on medium-high heat cook until almost set without breaking up the omelette. Add greens and cheese towards the end just to heat through. Fold omelette in half, make sure egg is cooked and remove from pan. Sprinkle with pepper and serve. I like this with garlic rubbed crusty bread and a side of tomatoes drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.





What to do with leftover light sour cream and radish sprouts?

  • Make a Smoked Salmon Pasta with a Radish Sprouts, Light Sour Cream Sauce
That was my dinner. A very pale green plate of light
tasting, refreshingly tangy and peppery pasta.

Recipe for 2 persons: Sauce: 1/4 parmigiano reggiano, 3/4 cup light sour cream, 1/2 cup radish sprouts, 1 small garlic clove, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cooked pasta for 2 persons. 1 cup of pasta water (water you used to cook pasta in). Smoked salmon slices. Salmon caviar or the Japanese version, ikura.

Blend all sauce ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a pan and simmer for 8 minutes. Stir while you are at it so it does not burn.  Turn off heat. Have the 1 cup pasta water near you. Transfer cooked pasta into pan of sauce and toss to coat. If you think the sauce is too thick, loosen it up with pasta water. Divide pasta into 2 plates. Strewn over smoked salmon, a few more radish sprouts and I like to top mine with ikura instead of bottled salmon caviar. I like that it is less salty, delicate in flavour and a little sweet. The taste of the peppery and tangy radish sprouts as a sauce on pasta with the savoury salty smoked salmon and sweet ikura is wonderful.

Stuck with more light sour cream?

Please read the post under, Smoked Salmon with Dill Butter Tea Sandwiches for more ideas.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                  
English Afternoon Tea beckons.
Bottom plate second layer: Roast Beef with Beetroot,

Only 3 more recipes to go before you can go off to make the entire English Afternoon Tea spread pictured above!

Here's what I have posted:

Recently posted:


Current post:

Egg and Cress Tea Sandwiches

Soon to be posted:

Classic Victoria Cake

There will be another reason to invite people over to your home soon. Impress them with an English Afternoon Tea spread.  You can always replace items that you fancy more than those I prepared on the 2-tier cake stand. For instance, buying macaroons will pretty up your serving plate and you have one less item to prepare.

I should be posting the recipe for Ham and Honey Butter Tea Sandwiches next. Check again soon for that!

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