NOT your usual Vietnamese banh mi sandwich

Banh mi is a Vietnamese-style sandwich. My variant of it uses gravlax, homemade sauerkraut and a dill sauce. The sandwiches are usually pressed, so we weighted them down with our teakettle for about 20 minutes. This gets the flavors to ooze into the bread.

I guess my conception of this is that it is a deconstructed/reconstructed bagel with lox and cream cheese. The sauerkraut is a gratuitous addition that brings in an element of a Reuben. Go figure.

NOT your usual Vietnamese banh mi sandwich
1 sfilatino loaf, or 2 - 6” sections of French bread
dill sauce* (recipe below)
gravlax
homemade sauerkraut (or store bought)
lettuce or baby arugula

Slice the bread in half and pull our some of the soft insides (if you wish). Smear some dill sauce on both sides of the bread. Layer in gravlax and sauerkraut (as much as you want). Top with some lettuce or arugula (arugula is in the picture above).

Lay a piece of foil over the top of the sandwiches and weight them for 20 minutes or so.

*Dill sauce
Mix together equals parts, yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream. Add salt and pepper, and a generous tablespoon each parsley and fresh dill. It will taste best if you do this ahead – day before, an hour or two, whatever is convenient for you.

Dill pickle slices

On September 25, 2008, I posted my recipe for dill pickles. The good news was that we could get pickling cukes at that time at our favorite farmers market. The bad news is that we can’t get them in the winter.

More good news: I have found that one can make quite delicious dills using the so-called seedless or English cucumber.

I’ve tried this twice, the first time using the basic recipe from September. I think because the English cuke is sliced it absorbed too much salt. They were surprisingly ready to eat in just hours instead of days. I had to exchange the pickling liquid with a mix of white wine vinegar and water to tame the sodium.

The second batch is much milder. What I will post here is a third batch which should be just about perfect. The pickles will be quite mild. If you try this, post a comment and let me know what you think.

If you don't have, or don't want to have, pickling spice, just add a couple of pinches of any or all of the following that you do have: cinnamon, peppercorns, mustard seed, powdered ginger, coriander seed, dill seed, mace, allspice, juniper berries, cloves and bay leaf.

Dill pickle slices
1 English cucumber, sliced in ½” rounds

1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 2/3 cups water
1 tbsp kosher salt

2 tsp pickling spice (such as McCormack's)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp dill seed
1 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix all the brine ingredients together, making sure to dissolve the salt and sugar. Place the pickle slices in a jar. I have a commercial dill pickle jar that holds 32 fluid oz. which is the perfect size. If necessary use two smaller jars.

Bring the brine to a boil over medium high heat. Remove from the heat and allow to stand until it's just cool enough that you can stick a finger in it. For whole cucumbers you would pour the boiling brine over them. I think, because these are slices of cuke, that you'll avoid mushiness by letting the brine cool slightly first.

Pour the brine over the pickles and refrigerate for 2-3 days.

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.

Dill Pickles

I thought I wrote about homemade dill pickles earlier this summer. Turns out I didn't. I've made pickles several times, the most recent using a recipe from the book "Charcuterie" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. It was far less satisfactory than the recipe I had used before. The pickles were way too salty and had to be soaked in fresh water for several hours before being truly edible.

Our favorite farmer's market, Heinies in Arvada, CO, has had fresh (and drying) dill stalks. I bought some pickling cucumbers and some dill there today. I don't remember where I got my recipe. I've modified it from the original, largely because I have a pickling spice mix. Therefore I don't have to add bits and pieces of aromatics and spices; they are all in the mix.

The number of cucumbers is arbitrary. I happen to have a wonderful multi-sided jar that will accomodate 15. Adjust the ingredients according to how many cucumbers you buy.

Dill pickles
15 pickling cucumbers
3 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup pickling salt or kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tbsp pickling spice (available at specialty markets)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced with seeds
8 garlic cloves, peeled and slightly smashed
1 bunch dill

In a large stockpot bring water to boil. Add cucumbers, immediately remove from the heat and drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water and set aside.

Combine pickling liquid ingredients in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Place cucumbers in a large, non-reactive, container with the remaining spices and vegetables. Pour hot pickling liquid over cucumber mixture and let cool. Tap down solids until liquid rises to top. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Transfer to a sealed conainer and refrigerate for 3 days before serving.

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.