Focaccia, Interrupted

Plus the best, quickest scrambled egg technique.

Hello there! I am in another round of edits for my upcoming novel, so did my best to keep this newsletter brief and useful. If you make focaccia sandwiches / scrambled eggs after reading it, or want to chat about Saltie, reply back with an email – I would love to know your thoughts.

A few months ago, my mom made me a focaccia sandwich with boiled eggs and leftover Caesar’s salad, and I have since become obsessed with salads inside sandwiches. I don’t mean plain lettuce or arugula/rocket in sandwiches but fully realised salads with their own personality. (The technical term might be composed salads? Or entree salads? Cobb, Waldorf, Niçoise, etc.) In this particular case, I love that it’s the two most generic airport/station/canteen ‘salads’ (egg salad, Caesar’s salad) smushed into one. It’s weird and lovely and so, so delicious.

Focaccia has a great way of just absorbing whatever sandwich filling you put inside it. The appeal of a Caesar’s salad in focaccia, though, is that the lettuce keeps its crunchy texture, interrupting the soft, holey focaccia dough. And, well, Caesar’s salad is just great always.

The original Focaccia, Interrupted sandwich – a lot better than it looks.

When I make salad-filled focaccia sandwiches at home, I do not bother putting it on a plate or sitting down; part of the magic is eating it straight off the chopping board while standing up. Arugula/rocket, spinach, or mesclun don’t really work here – you need a salad green that will stay crunchy even if you overdress it. Lettuce, cabbage, or kale are best.

Here’s the basic format of this ‘recipe’: put a nicely dressed salad and some protein or other inside focaccia. And here’s an example:

Recipe: Focaccia, Interrupted (Cabbage Salad & Mortadella)

1 squares focaccia, split through the inside
1 slice / a couple of slices mortadella
Cabbage-scallion/spring onion salad with sesame dressing (see Step 1)

Makes 1 sandwich

1. Lay down two large cabbage leaves on top one another. Cut off the end of a single scallion/spring onion and any soggy / brown parts. Wrap the leaves around the scallion like a sleeping bag and thinly slice this weird-ass green log. Toss the sliced cabbage and scallion with the kind of sesame dressing you get at Japanese restaurants. I used Kikkoman brand sesame dressing from the bottle but when I am not so lazy my favourite homemade recipe for it is here (The Japantry).

2. On one piece of focaccia, put as much of this salad on it as you want. You’ll have plenty of leftovers, which you can use until the next day for another sandwich or as a side to something else. On the other piece, lay down a slice or two of mortadella (or any other deli meat or seared tofu!). Put this pieces together and that’s all.

Honourable Mention: Saltie’s Ship’s Biscuit

This is actually my 10-year anniversary of eating a sandwich at Saltie in Brooklyn. I had moved to the area in summer 2013 and I remember it being my first meal after waking up as an official NYC resident. (If you’d tasted their stuff, I promise you wouldn’t think it’s that strange to have a 10-year anniversary with a sandwich.)

Of course it’s not really about the sandwich as much as being young and at the very start of adult life, equal parts confident and terrified. Anyway, I’m no longer 23 and Saltie no longer exists, but you know what does still exist? Focaccia, ricotta cheese, and scrambled eggs – all the contents of the Ship’s Biscuit sandwich at Saltie. I just gave you the recipe but if you want it properly formatted, see Edible Brooklyn’s article on it here.

Thinking about the Ship’s Biscuit sandwich reminded me of Saltie’s scrambled egg technique, mentioned in the linked article as well as the Saltie cookbook. Basically, on a not too hot pan, heat butter and crack a fried egg or two. When the whites look just about set, take the pan off the heat, poke the yolk(s), mix it together, and take the egg(s) off the pan when it looks good to you. I made it a few days ago and ate it over a smushed, olive oil–fried crumpet. It was simple, quick and great:

I have so much to say about crumpets – a topic for another day.

Thank you for reading, especially as I try to iron out what on earth this newsletter is about.

Best,

Nikkitha