The perfect chicken sandwich

We had guests over the weekend which meant the inevitable - too much food and drink over the course of two days.  After a long lunch standing round the kitchen table (too many people, too few chairs, too small a table), eating chilli, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, tomato and coriander salsa, tortillas and pita bread, the chicken I roasted for the evening was a bit redundant.

Come nine in the evening, we went for the ideal not-really-hungry-but-want-something-to-eat special - sandwiches.  Much like the ham and mustard sandwich late on Christmas night, these really seemed to work - filling a hole but not making us feel bloated again.

The perfect roast chicken sandwich

• Bread - has to be slices around 1 - 1.5 cm thick, has to be white and doughy with a good crust - a bloomer is ideal


• Chicken - breast meat, carved reasonably thickly from a good bird roasted with herbs and olive oil, warm - not hot, not cold!


• Harissa paste - want to know more? recipe to be published later this week


• Butter - not margarine, not low-fat spread, nothing hydrogonated or fortified with fish eyes - butter.  Fat, yellow, soft butter


• Lettuce - dark green and thick leaved - preferably cos or similar - torn into manageable pieces
  


• Salt - malden sea salt


• Mayo - from a jar will do, but home-made is perfect

How to do it?
Butter one slice and spread thinly with the harissa.  Lay the chicken slices ontop, sprinkle with salt, place the lettuce on top, then spread the mayo on the other slice of bread and place it on top.
Eat.  Wash down with chilled beer.   Perfect!

An alternative to the harissa?  How about home-made aioli?

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