Recipe #7: My Almost-Award Winning BLT
Summer notes from a sore loser.
Every summer my friends gather ‘round and dedicate an entire day to gorging on the greatest food group of all time: sandwiches. And because we’ve all got a little brattiness in us, we turn it into a full blown competition with folks assembling on site and presenting their entries in courses of gluttony. At the end of the day when we’re all groaning and in pain we cast anonymous votes for our top 3, and a winner of the annual Summer Sandwich Slam is crowned! In years past this was simply a metaphor, but last year we actually had a custom designed championship belt to duke it out over, courtesy of the hosts.
You could say I’m the Susan Lucci of Sandwiches (I have yet to win, always placing second or third) although technically speaking last year I did win — it was just the result of a tie. After a run off vote between me and the man behind the French Dipless (a sandwich even I voted for in the first round, which a friend later scolded me for, “Humility is for losers, Kim.” He was right.) I was once again pushed to the side and commemorative photos of me getting put into a headlock by the newly appointed Title Defender were taken.
So I may not have won even if I kind of did, but I did hear a lot of lustful groans when I presented my entry, the Oops! I BLAT My Pants. It’s possible that a percentage of these groans were out of pain, since mine was one of the last entries to be dispensed but this is a rational-thought free zone, so there you have it.
I always say the best sandwiches are just “Subway sandwiches that died and went to Heaven” — that is to say it’s nothing all that complicated, just made with top notch ingredients and an extra squirt of love.
Simple as though this sandwich may seem, the key is in the choice ingredients, preparation of the tomatoes, as well as the secret sauce — a cilantro pepita mayo-based dressing used in lieu of my go-to Duke’s, which I am sharing the recipe for today.
While I didn’t invent that extra squirt of love, it’s where I landed after desperately trying to reverse engineer a salad dressing from a popular wine bar in town. I maybe might possibly may be the first person to ever put it on a sandwich, though. It’s great either way, with just about any protein. Truly an all-purpose creamy, green dressing.
Cilantro-Pepita Dressing
✦ Time: 30 min
✦ Difficulty: Easy
✦ Makes: About 25 oz.
✦ Adapted From: But First We Brunch
Ingredients
170g (3/4 cup) Canola Oil
170g (3/4 cup) Mayonnaise
1 Chili Pepper (35g) Anaheim or Jalapeño
35g Pepitas
1 Large Clove Garlic
45g (3 TBSP) Cotija
30g (2 TBSP) Red Wine Vinegar
1 Bunch (70g) Cilantro
30g (2 TBSP) Water
1/2 tsp Salt
Pinch Black Pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 1/8 sheet tray with parchment paper and roast the pepitas for 10 minutes. Give the pan a good shake, then roast for 5-7 minutes more. You’ll know they’re done when you take them out and can hear them softly crackling.
Remove the pepitas from the pan and line it with aluminum foil. Roast your chili pepper under the broiler, turning occasionally until nicely charred on all sides. Remove from the oven and fold the aluminum foil up into a tent and steam the pepper for 5 minutes. This will make it easier to peel. Remove the stem, and also the seeds if you wish.
Add all the ingredients except for the cilantro, mayonnaise and water to a high speed blender or immersion blending cup. Blend on high until well mixed, then add the rest of the ingredients and continue to blend until completely smooth.
Pour into squeeze bottles and refrigerate for use on sandwiches and salads.
BLT Assembly
Gather your ingredients: Sourdough bread, choice bacon, 1 leaf romaine lettuce, heirloom tomato and mayonnaise. Avocado optional.
Cook the bacon: I am an oven bacon bitch fru n fru (325ish degrees for 15ish minutes on a 1/8 sheet tray lined with aluminum foil, til the fat starts to get crispy) but do what you will. My bacon of choice comes from Niman Ranch, which I always stock up on when there’s a good sale and stash in the freezer so I’m never caught with my pants down during BLT season.
Meanwhile: Thickly slice the tomato and place in a single layer in a bowl or on a plate lined with a paper towel. Generously salt each slice of tomato and set aside. You could pepper them too, but I don’t usually care to. That’s just me though; do what you will.
Shred the lettuce: Cut the leaf of romaine in half, stack on top of each other and then roll tightly into a tube. Slice the tube into ribbons, give it a tiny sprinkle of salt and set aside.
Lightly toast your bread: We’re not trying to destroy the roofs of our mouths here, just want to give the bread some structural integrity to help it from completely sogging out. It’s less about getting color on the bread and more about pulling some of the moisture out.
Bring it together: Swipe a thick layer of mayo (or cilantro pepita dressing!) on each side of the bread. Go hogwild here, no one likes a dry ass sandwich. Lay each ingredient starting with the lettuce, then tomato and finally the bacon — I like to cut each slice in half to create a #crosshatch pattern to create some layers of friction and keep everything from yanking out in a single bite.
If you want to double down on structural integrity, wrap the sandwich tightly in parchment paper, twisting the ends like a candy wrapper, then slice diagonally while firmly pressing down on the top of the sandwich.
And that’s how you make a BLT with love.
HAPPY BLT SEASON!
If you made this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below or tag me on social media.