Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about sandwiches. I’m been dreaming about this amazing smoked meat sandwich we had in Montreal. It was simple, just meat, rye bread, and mustard but the size of it was massive and the taste was delicious. I still regret not getting a second one immediately after I finished the first. I’ve also been dreaming about the turkey cranberry sandwich I used to have at Earl’s Sandwiches when I lived in Arlington. That sandwich was like Thanksgiving any time of year.
But those are specialty sandwiches, and although I sort of need to find a specialty sandwich place here in London, I’ve turned my attention to takeaway sandwiches. You know, the kind you can just grab on the go. I’ve found I don’t often like the takeaway sandwiches, and usually it’s because of too much mayonnaise. But I did find some local flavors I like, such as coronation chicken, tuna and sweet corn, or salt beef and gherkins. However, nothing has truly been cutting it. The sandwich I am craving and missing is such a simple one! It’s the Mediterranean sandwich from Potbelly in the US. Once I got thinking about it, I was sure I could recreate.
I discovered this sandwich the summer after I graduated with my Masters in Museum Studies from NYU. I felt like having a Masters meant I should have a real job and be a professional, whatever that means. But instead, I was working at a temporary science exhibit in a place that had no air conditioning and no plumbing. In DC. IN. THE. SUMMER. If you don’t know DC in the summer, it’s like 95°/35° all the time and it’s about 1000% humidity. A woman who lived in the apartment building upstairs and regularly brought her granddaughter to the exhibit would sometimes offer us water and popsicles. It was so hot that the plastic balls in one of the exhibits would become misshapen so the exhibit no longer worked. Needless to say, I didn’t feel especially professional sweating it out and I hadn’t thought that this was where my degree would take me.
My one solace from the heat was Potbelly restaurant around the corner. There I could enjoy cool air and a bathroom. I’d buy a cold water and a Mediterranean sandwich and luxuriate in the comfort of the restaurant and the food. The Mediterranean sandwich might not look like much, but for me, it has a special significance because it was there for me during frustrating time. And besides, it is freaking delicious. I love Mediterranean flavors, as I told you when I confessed that I eat tons of Greek salad when Ryan is away. I love the crunchy, salty, oily, creamy combination of fresh and canned vegetables all coated in cheese and hummus.
I love this recipe also because it allows you to have a little freedom. For example, use whatever hummus you like. I found lemon and coriander (cilantro) hummus here and loved it. But I think regular, garlic, or roasted red pepper would all be amazing. I used a jar of roasted red peppers because I like the roasted flavor and I didn’t feel the sandwich needed additional crunch. However, feel free to use fresh peppers if you like that flavor better. Also, I mixed all the ingredients, minus the hummus, together and then stuffed the pita. I like this because it makes the bites diverse. If you like layering your ingredients for uniform flavor bites, that works too. Do what you like, just be sure to enjoy this in a cool and comfortable place.
Messy level: Ordinarily a sandwich is an easy one spoon recipe. I’m giving this two spoons just because you have to do a little chopping, draining, and mixing. The added steps create more dishes, but help make the sandwich more delicious.
- ½ cup artichoke hearts, drained from a jar
- 2 roasted red peppers, drained from a jar
- ½ cup roughly chopped cucumber
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2-3 tablespoons hummus (any flavor you like)
- 2-3 pita pocket rounds (size depends on how many sandwiches you get)
- Preparation note: If you haven't already prepared the cucumbers, chop them now. I cut the whole cucumber lengthwise in quarters. Then I chopped along those quarters and made tiny little wedges. (As if you cut coins of cucumbers then cut those circles into quarters) However, shape doesn't really matter, it just needs to be easy to stuff in your sandwich.
- Cut the roasted red peppers into slices. Again, size isn't so important, just medium length slices that can easily be stuffed into a sandwich.
- Scoop the artichokes out of the jar and let excess oil or water drain off. You can pat them with a paper towel if you want them especially dry. Put the artichokes in a small bowl.
- Add the chopped cucumber, sliced roasted red peppers, and feta cheese to the small bowl with the artichokes.
- Mix the sandwich ingredients until things are mixed up and a little cheese looks like it's gotten stuck to everything.
- Cut the pita rounds in half and open the pita pockets. Using a knife generously spread hummus inside each half of the pita pocket. You don't have to measure, but about 1 teaspoon should do. If you like more, do more. [Note: If you make sandwiches from 3 pita rounds, then you'll use a total of 1 tablespoon of hummus]
- Fill the pita pockets with your mixed sandwich ingredients. Depending on how much you fill and the size of your pita pockets, you'll have about 2-3 sandwiches.
- Serve the sandwiches on a plate. Spoon a large dollop of hummus on the edge of the plate. Use this for dipping your sandwich or any vegetables that fall out. The more hummus the better!
