Mediterranean Sausage Sandwich with Rucola and Coriander Oil
For this rich sandwich you need strong and tasty, coarse sausages, stuffed with flavours. Maltese sausage is ideal as it is the most aromatic and also the chunkiest sausage I've ever eaten. The meat is enhanced with lots of garlic, coriander seeds, spicy black peppercorns and parsley, while sea salt adds a strong saltiness. These sausages are perfect for a thick wintery vegetable soup, but in summer I like to have them in sandwiches. You could also use an Italian salsiccia which is also rich in flavours.
I like to fry the sausages first, then I deglaze them in the pan with a splash of wine, sweet wine even. I close the pan with a lid and let the meat cook in the juices until it's still a bit pinky on the inside. When you fry them only, they tend to dry out as they need quite a few minutes to be cooked through, and I like them juicy! Some people here in Malta like to eat them raw, a habit I'm a bit suspicious of due to the hot climate, but the taste apparently is amazing, according to my friends!
For this week's sandwich, I cut a crusty sourdough bun in half and brushed both sides with the cooking juices before I covered the bottom side with rucola (arugula or rocket salad) leaves and thick slices of juicy sausage. I sprinkled the meat with a bit of olive oil infused with coriander seeds and squeezed the bun together for it to soak all the nice and aromatic cooking liquids. This sandwich is quite hearty but the rucola and the coriander add a light summery feeling to it!
Mediterranean Sausage Sandwich with Rucola and Coriander Oil
For 2 sandwiches you need
crusty sourdough buns, cut in half, 2
thick, coarse sausages, preferably with herbs and spices like salsiccia, 2
rucola leaves, a handful
olive oil 3 tablespoons plus more for frying
coriander seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar, 1/2 teaspoon
white wine for deglazing
Warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan with the coriander seeds for a few minutes to infuse the oil.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and fry the sausages until golden brown on all sides. Deglaze with a splash of wine, close with a lid and cook for a few minutes until the meat is just a little pink on the inside. Cut the sausages into thick slices.
Brush both sides of the bun with the cooking liquid, cover with rucola leaves and spread the sausage slices on top. Sprinkle with the coriander oil and close the bun, pushing it together a bit.
Spinach, Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Pink Peppercorns
Green, white and red! Many of my summer dishes sing praise to the Italian flag, without any intention, but maybe my subconscious has something to do with it as I love this country so much. I was so shocked and sad for this football loving nation when they had to leave the World Cup this week (and one of their players got bitten!). I know they love this sport almost as much as their food (which means a lot!), so here's a patriotic salad to lift up their spirits!
Crunchy baby spinach, rucola (rocket salad) mixed with a light olive oil, orange and Balsamico dressing, topped with sweet strawberries, thin slices of young goat gouda and pink peppercorns. The mild Dutch cheese, the berries and aromatic pepper work perfectly on their own as well, cheese, fruit and a little spiciness, a scrumptious little nibble I can never reject!
For this salad for 2 I threw together a handful of baby spinach leaves and a small handful of rucola. My fruity dressing is the same one I used for my spinach and melon salad, I whisked 5 teaspoons of olive oil with 3 teaspoons of orange juice, 2 teaspoons of Balsamico vinegar and seasoned it with a little salt and black pepper. 12 strawberries cut in half and 6 slices of goat gouda (or another mild hard goat cheese) torn in pieces sprinkled on top together with a teaspoon of crushed pink peppercorns finished it off.
Rucola Salad with Goat Cheese, Honey Dressing and Pink Peppercorns
Here's the salad which accompanied yesterday's salmon with spice crust, rucola with goat cream cheese, crushed pink peppercorns and a sweet honey Balsamico vinegar dressing! I wanted to use both the pink and the green peppercorns which I had just bought at the market, not in the same dish but in the same meal. The spiciness of the green pepper fit perfectly with the crust I chose for the fish but my salad, sweet and milky, needed a mild and less spicy aroma, pink peppercorns. The berries matched the sourness of the creamy cheese very well which was so young that there was only a hint of goat milk. I could have used mozzarella instead but I wanted this special, slightly sharp aroma which balanced out the sweetness of my vinaigrette on the other side.
Usually, I make a quick dressing for my salads, 3 tablespoons of olive and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar plus salt and pepper, but this salad asked for more. I kept the ratio of vinegar and oil but I mixed my dark balsamic vinegar with the white one and added 1 small teaspoon of honey (depending on the sweetness you want to achieve you might need more or less honey). It turned out thick, sticky and syrupy, exactly what I wanted! For 2 I spread 2 handfuls of rucola leaves on plates and sprinkled 125g / 4.5 ounces of fresh goat cream cheese in big lumps on top. I drizzled the dressing over the leaves and garnished my salad with 1 tablespoon of crushed pink peppercorns. It would have made us just as happy as a light and easy lunch on its own. I have to remember that, it will be perfect on a hot summer evening!
