My craving for BLT’s started with the bread. Not Bimbo, but thickly sliced, toasted, homemade bread. The kind that deserves a good slathering of Brazilian banana-orange marmalade, which was slowly going bad in our fridge.
But back to the BLT. It would be a messy monster, with thick slices of heirloom tomato and thick slices of bacon. Nestled over the bacon would be a mound of sauteed red onions, still sort of al dente, and a layer of chile mayonnaise that oozed out the sides. But not a creamy mayonnaise, something more chile-forward (yes, I just said “chile forward”) — something with a little tobacco and fruit in it.
My homemade chile sandwich spread
Last week I was in a bit of a funk because because mosquitoes kept torturing me while I slept. On Wednesday I finally found the ganas to make the bread. (Used Joy of Cooking’s Milk Bread recipe, without the egg wash because I forgot.) Besides the bread rising like a monster in the oven, it came out fine.
Last night — I had to act quickly because the bread was going stale — I fried the bacon in our cast-iron skillet and tossed the onions in the bacon fat, de-glazing everything with a bit of Indio beer. Whipped up a quick salsa in my blender and added a little mayo to even everything out.
The result was a two-hand-holder sandwich: big, gloppy, chin-staining, with juicy tomato bits dripping out the bottom. The spread had exactly the chile taste I wanted — hints of chocolate and tobacco and berries, with just a touch of heat.
I finished my sandwich before Crayton did, so I looked at him very sweetly and asked for a bite of his. Because he’s nice he said yes. I think I ate his last piece of bacon.
BLT’s with ancho-pasilla spread and sauteed red onions
Makes two big sandwiches with some left over
Note: The onions really make a difference here, adding a layer of sweetness and some texture. I’d definitely want to include them in any future BLT experiments. Also, I was tempted to make a chipotle mayo but I’m glad I didn’t — the smoky bacon stands out that much more.
For the BLTs:
Four slices thick white bread, toasted
A few leaves high-quality lettuce
1 1/2 small beefsteak tomatoes, sliced
150g or 5-6 thick slices smoked bacon
3 thick slices red onion
A few tablespoons dark beer
For the chile spread:
2 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and de-veined
2 pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and de-veined
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1 large tomatillo (50g or about 2 oz.), simmered in water until soft
1 1/2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
spritz of fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Hydrate chiles in hot water for about 10 minutes, until skin has softened. Place in blender with garlic and water, and tomatillo, and blend into thick paste. Add more water if necessary. Let cool to room temperature and stir in mayonnaise, lime juice, salt and pepper. Chill spread until ready to use.
Meanwhile, to make BLTs, fry bacon in a heavy skillet, or however you usually fry bacon. (Some people use the oven.) Remove bacon and strain out most of the grease. With the flame on medium-high, add onions to pan and cook, stirring constantly so they soak up all the yummy charred bits. Add a little more grease if they start to burn. After a minute or two, once the onions have started to turn translucent, add a stream of beer (if you want) to deglaze the pan. You could also add water or chicken broth.
To serve, spread each slice of bread liberally with chile spread. Top with lettuce, tomato, bacon and onions. Cover with remaining slice of bread and cut in half to serve.
it’s a beauty, lady!
Thanks Nishta!
Beautiful! I still haven’t found the secret to bake in Mexico City. All my attempts have been a failure. Where do you buy heirloom tomatoes in D.F.?
And for your mosquito problem, buy Raid repelente liquido. You plug it in an electrical outlet at night and it works wonders! No odors and no mess. Every little bottle lasts about 2 months and then you can just buy the refills for about 50 pesos. My skin is very delicate to mosquito bites and this repelente has really saved me. I even leave the windows opened at night.
I found heirloom tomatoes at Mercado San Juan. They don’t have them all the time, but the place I got them is in the middle aisle, maybe one pasillo over from Gastronómica San Juan, the cheese shop I like that sells good baguettes. The same stand also sells teeny-tiny cilantro and onion flower shoots, which I really wanted to buy but didn’t. Next time.
The spread sounds fantastic! These BLT’s are going on my to-do list as soon as some good tomatoes start coming in.
I’m making one right now! I just finished making the chili spread – my taste buds are going crazy.
Woo! Glad you liked it. I think the spread also works just by itself with the bread as a snack. 🙂
1. Yum. Now I’m hungry.
2. At the super, you’ll find a product that claims to repel mosquitos. It plugs into the wall and holds little 2cm by 3cm disposable pads. You put in a new pad each night and the part that plugs in warms it enough to release a small bit of repellant all night. I keep my windows open all night in the summer with the ventilador on (I can’t sleep otherwise) and this thing keeps the mosquitos away. I strongly recommend it.
3. Where do you find heirloom tomatoes in Mexico? (Looks like I’m endorsing Ben’s post; you go, Ben.) The regular ones at Mercado Medellin are much better than the papier mâché ones you get in Gringolandia but I’d love heirlooms.
4. When I get meaty heirlooms at my summer tianguis in El Norte, I make pesto (basil or cilantro, parma cheese, lemon, salt, pecans or walnuts, garlic, olive oil), use good coarse whole wheat bread, and top with toasted summer squash and sweet onions, sunflower seeds, and verdolaga sprouts. September is my favorite month to spend in the frozen north.
5. Ben: baking at 2500 msnm is a very delicate art; maybe you could google for high-altitude baking. And be grateful you’re not in Toluca or Ajusco.
Brian: YUM. Love your sandwich idea — I haven’t eaten breakfast yet and it sounds just about perfect. On mosquitoes, I’ve been searching for a natural solution. The plug-in repellant products I’ve seen here warn about not putting them in a bedroom, or not sleeping within five feet of them, which doesn’t exactly work for me. I actually bought a mosquito net and it took me several days to figure out how to use it…. the past few days, thankfully, everything has been fine.
Thank you Brian! I have no problem baking meat, flans or cakes. But all yeasted bread I’ve tried to bake never bakes properly. Maybe it is the yeast I’m getting is not high quality either. I have a friend who’s a baker so I guess I’ll just pay him a visit.
I don’t have any significant problems making yeast raised breads at 7000 feet. True, they take longer to rise, but that’s probably due to the cooler air here near Pátzcuaro. I also usually use less yeast than the recipe calls for.
What I DO want are some good tasting tomatoes. Got some Campari tomatoes at Costco last week, and they are pretty good.
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
I read about using less yeast online afterward — think it makes a lot of sense. My bread almost touch the top of my tiny oven, it rose so much. I had to cover it with aluminum foil after about 20 minutes of baking so it wouldn’t burn.
Have heirloom tomatoes come to Mexico now?
So glad you’re giving some attention to the humble sandwich. Since moving here my life has become increasingly dedicated to the pursuit of the perfect sandwich or sandwich-like thing (grilled cheese counts, welsh rarebit sort of counts).
Hope all is well. Blog’s looking as delicious as always…