Pensioner's Delight: Potluck/Party Muffletta lower-fat multi-layered Italian sarnie, dairy-free opt, vegetarian opt

67goingon50's Pensioners' Muffletta, a multi-layered Italian-style sandwich for the dentally challenged (including toddlers) using soft bread & delcately textured lively fillings ...

It may look like a load of standard fillings but nearly every one has a taste twist that provides stunning flavours

Normal mufflettas use crispy topped panini or ciabatta with chewy interiors and layers of cold Italian charcuterie, olives and salad.  They are, to be sure, fabulous.

But this one was a special treat for 4 delightful senior ladies at a picnic during the intermission of Macbeth at Keats House.  With champers!

Readers, they were thrilled with it!

A small challah loaf big enough for 8, soft but sturdy*, was filled with 6 layers of classic soft fillings but with unexpected twists. 

The muffletta isn't frugul but nor is it extravagant, especially since the portions are loaded and 8 portions is not a small number.

The recipe may seem daunting but as long as you get everything ready (perhaps the previous day?) before you prepare and fill the bread, you will be fine.

Cost: £10'ish depending on fridge contents (6/23)

Feeds: 8 hungry people

Ingredients:

1 medium cholla or soft wholemeal loaf, plain or seeded (enough for 8 regular portions)

5-6 tbsp very soft dairy or plant butter OR for those worried about fat, soft lettuce leaves washed & throughly dried OR both

at least 8 lettuce leaves, washed and thoroughtly dried

Filling 1

dairy or plant butter and well-dried lettuce leaves

Filling 2

1/2 cup thinly sliced chicken breast

Dressing: 1 tbsp mayo

               2 tbsp thick plain dairy or plant yoghurt

               1.5 tbsp cranberry sauce or piccalilly

Filling 3

Dairy or plant brie, thinly sliced (no need to remove rind)

Filling 4

2 large thin slices ham or pastrami or spiced beef

smear of Dijon mustard

Filling 5

single layer lettuce leaves covering the meat & half way up sides

Filling 6

1 tin tuna steak (or very good quality flakes, drained & coarsely broken up)

grated zest of lemon

juice of half a lemon

2 sping onions, green & white, both finely sliced 

lots of coarsely grated black pepper

Dressing: 1.5tb olive oil; 1 tsp balsamic vinegar; half clove grated garlic (opt but adds punch); 1/2 tsp mustard (wholegrain or Dijon); salt; pinch of sugar

Filling 7

layer of thinly sliced cucumber (opt)

Filling 8

egg mayo (supermarket OR your own: eggs, hardboiled, coarsely grated & moistened with just enough yoghurt mayo to hold together OR Chinese Egg Salad

1/3 recipe supermarket or make-your-own sunblush tomato bombs, finely chopped

 

Filling 9

half a tub supermarket hummous or 67's singletons's easy skinny hummous

handful toasted sunflower seeds (opt)

Filling 10

single layer soft butter lettuce

Method:

Equipment needed: 2 small trays, a small heavy book

1. Prepare ingredient fillings the night before; cover; refrigerate till needed
2. At least 2 hours before serving:
3. Slice the top off the cholla bread about 1 inch/2cm in depth
4. About 1.5 inches from the edges and the bottom, cut an inner ring of soft bread; remove all but 1 inch/2cnm off the side and 1.5 inches/3m off the  bottom (there should be a circular flat base in the bottom of the loaf-see photo above)
5. lightly butter bottom and sides of loaf
6. Thoroughly dry lettuce leaves; line the base and half way up the sides with 2-3 pieces of lettuce, folding or tearing to fit
7. Separate chicken pieces to prevent clumping; add only enough dressing to hold the contents together generously but not wet
8. Cover with thinly sliced brie, leaving spaces if necessary to reach the edges 
9. Cover the brie layer entirely with slices of ham/pastrami; smear lightly with Dijon mustard
10. Cover with a layer of lettuce 
11. Pour ingredients for tuna dressing into a small jar with tight lid; shake until mixture thickens, set aside; lightly stir tuna with rest of tuna layer ingredients until well mixed; pour over dressing...the fish will be a little dry which is as it should be. Spread evenly over lettuce; cover with cucumber slices if using 
12. Mix egg mayo with finely chopped sunblush tomato, adding a little of the juices if you like; spread egg over tuna
13. Cover egg with hummous; scatter over sunflower seeds
14. Cover with soft dry lettuce; top with cholla lid
15. Wrap tightly twice in clingfilm; place on a tray
16. Cover with second small tray; place a good sized book on top
17. Refrigerate a few hours...no more than 4
18. Slice into wedges on site

Comments from the feisty group of mature ladies/early feminists:

'This is really really nice!'

'Could I have a bigger piece? Oh, alright, I'll have two!'

'Very tasty.'

'Yes, I would love to take home the leftovers!!'

'Think it's going to be bunch of boring old fillings? Think again.  Nearly every layer has an unexpected and unusual flavour.  Fabulous!'

Tips:

Vegetarian option: 

• replace chicken with tofu 'chicken' gougons
• replace ham with vegan deli ham (M&S/Waitrose) OR thinly sliced vegetarian frankfurthers (Tivali: Waitrose, Mr Mistry South End Green) 

* small cholla loaf £4+, Roni's Hampstead & Belsize Village, Panzers, Waitrose 

Notes:  The muffletta is an Italian sandwich originating in New Orleans.  It's always been hefty despite - in the early days - having only three components: bread, spicy olive salad and Italian charcuterie.  Nowadays there is a wide choice of fillings including soft cheeses, cooked and raw vegetables, deli meats and rich dressings.

                 Please leave a Comment in the box below 

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission

SOFT, FLUFFY PUFFY FLATBREADS: no yeast, 30 mins prep

When it comes to bread, sometimes only the fluffy white stuff will do...

Courtesy of Inspired Taste and licensed for reuse 
under this Creative Commons Licence

(67goingon50 Photo on the way)

You can get that easily from supermarkets and artisans bakeries but they usually contain yeast and supermarkets often include additives.

Making your own white bread, while admirable, can be a bit of a faff...especially if life is busy.  

Here's a an alternative -- soft fluffy puffy flatbreads.  

They are the most bread-like flatbreads 67goingon50 has encountered. so far.  And they're cooked on a stovetop - no oven required.

They're easy and quick-- a  simple 1-bowl wonder that's ready in 30 mins, including resting & cooking time.

The recipe comes from Inspired Taste.

Ingredients

260g/9.17 oz flour (any kind but part wholemeal makes denser flatbreads) 
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon maple syrup or sugar.
175 mil cold water

1-2 tablespoons of oil (generous oil softens the flatbread)

Method:

RICE & WHITE SAUCE SALAD: when barbeques & salad bars take their toll

A buffet salad designed not to upset a dicky tummy...

Lean, clean and soothing white basmati salad

In England, we aren't used to heat waves and the food 'n  drink that appears with them.  Like fire-cooked food and salads from happy cooks trying to outdo each other with sassy ingredients and dressings. 

That's great and guests will enjoy them all.

But if you're suffering from overeating or an uneasy tummy, bland'ish food is the way to go. 

Individual bowls of salad veg with separate dressings makes guests' choices easier.

Simple potato salads with maybe one extra ingredient - finely sliced celery, hard boiled eggs - are brilliant (there are plenty of good ones in 67goingon50's archive).  Strongly recommended is plain Lo-fat 10-minute Smashed Potato Salad.

Plainer salads don't have to be tasteless though, as this post's Rice & White Sauce Salad proves.

It's very soothing in appearance, flavours and texture.  It's creamy but low-fat with delicate non-strident flavours. Easily digested, it settles and calms upset stomachs.  

It won't cost much, is easily to put together, can be prepped ahead and does Triple Duty as a vegan, vegetarian or carnivolre choice.

Every salad buffet should offer something like it.

Cost: min £1'ish, more depending on additions (2023)

Portions:2-3     easily multiplied

Ingredients:,

1.5 cups cooled cooked white rice (1/2 cup raw - Cook in water perfumed with a slice of fresh ginger, a large garlic clove (optional), 2 spring onions and - if you like - half a stock cube, drain, discarding aromatics) 

generous 1/3 cup frozen peas, defrosted

Optional additions

ribbons of cold thin cooked 1-egg omelette  (opt)

thinly sliced mushrooms cooked in butter & lemon juice (opt)

shredded cooked chicken (opt)

finely cubed firm tofu (opt)

Dressing

1/4 cup mayo

generous 1/2 cup strained plain yoghurt (Greek, Icelandic or regular yoghurt home-thickened - see bottom of page Salad Dressing a la 67goingon50 )

2 spring onions (green only for the fodmar wary), coarsely chopped

1/4 tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh chives (opt but adds subtle flavour)

1/4 tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh parsley (opt but adds subtle flavour)

1/4 tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh dill (opt)

pepper & salt

Method:

1. Place salad dressing ingredients in small bowl; use a stick or bowl blender to blitz until completely smooth; refrigerate until needed
2. If rice is clumped together, put into a freezer bag; close; gently press any lumps until grains are separate; refrigerate till needed
3. At least an hour before serving, mix together rice, peas and choice of additions
4. Stir in enough dressing to generously moisten but not overwhelm (leftover sauce can be used elsewhere)
5. Keep cool till needed  

Comments:

'I had this when I was recovering from gastric 'flu and it calmed my sore tum; the yoghurty dressing was like a balm. I ate little else that day.' Retired writer

Tips:

• If you liked this you will also like Foods for a Dicky Tummy/Overindulgence 
• For classic 67goingon50 potato salad recipes go here 

 

              Please leave a Comment in the box below 

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

HOW TO...MOUTHWATERING QUICK & EASY 'CHOW MEIN' NOODLE SALAD

Easy Chinese Noodle Salad with more-ish sauce is Chinese restaurant quality ...but costs much less

Chow Mein Salad with Pork & Veg in a ring of air fried crispy kale
'Classic noodle dish is simple but so special; ok, it's westernised but it is a truly delicious budget meal.' Taster

The blogger has developed a craving for chow mein noodles, partly due to their availability - and deliciousness - in local supermarket Kavanaghs' (ex-Budgens) cook-at-home takeaway counters. (details in Welcome to the Blog, nav bar above) 

Chow mein is a popular colourful dish of Chinese noodles, leftover and raw vegetables plus a choice - or combination - of proteins.  Chow Mein is found on the menu of nearly every Chinese restaurant outside China. 

It's usually eaten hot but in the middle of a heatwave, 67 thought a salad version would be good.  And it was: Wow!

The sauce is really the selling point; it turns the noodles into something more-ish and almost addictive.  It has a sweet and savoury umami-ness (complex meaty savouriness).  

No exotic ingredients needed, just soy sauce, sesame oil and black pepper with sesame paste (tahini) or peanut butter. 

But it's also frugal; the mix of ingredients is dictated by budget.  Noodles are relatively cheap and there's a wide choice of  protein & veg, leftovers or freshly cooked.  

The dish is wonderful to eat. The noodles are shiny and hold their shape; the veg, crunchy and the proteins tender.  Unlike hot chow mein, there's no chance of sogginess here.  

Add some pizazz to the usual salad bar; give it a go.  Chow Mein Salad could fast become part of your list of family favourites.

Cost: depending on leftovers, min £2.00'ish  (7/24)

Feeds: 2'ish

Ingredients:

Sauce:

2 tbsp sesame paste/tahini or peanut butter
2 tbsp jasmine tea, water or stock
1.5-2 tbsp soy sauce (1.5 if there are blood pressure issues)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or balsamic)

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp veg oil (opt)

1/2 tsp sugar (opt)

1 tbsp minced or grated garlic

2 nests of medium egg noodles, any type (but wholemeal are healthier and taste virtually the same) 

150-200gm/5.2-7oz cooked protein: pork, chicken, beef, prawns, firm tofu

small handful of 3-4 of the following:s

cooked:

broccoli
small cauliflower florets
green beans
pea pods

mange tout

bak choy

peas

raw

thinly sliced celery

thinly sliced cucumber

thinly sliced radishes 

carrot shaving

small bite-sized chunks tomatoes, seeds removed if you like

beansprouts (blanched in boiling water)

Garnishes:

air fryer crispy kale

OR coarsely chopped roasted peanuts or almonds

Method: