Writer @miles__apart
Ballymaloe Cookery School Grad www.foodbyannabel.com.au @foodbyannabel
The chicken sandwich is almost an institution. Any caterer worth their salt can whip up a delicious tray without even blinking. I cant imagine how many I made during my catering career! Perfect for any party, always a crowd pleaser.
Makes 30 finger sandwiches
- 1 x standard block loaf sliced thin
- 125gms butter melted
- 750gms chicken breast / 1 whole bbq chook
- 1&1/2 cups Mayo – Hellman’s or S&W
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 Spring onions finely chopped
- The zest of 1 large lemon
- 1/3 cup herbs chopped (parsley, mint, basil)
- 1/3 cup toasted almond flakes OR
- 1 baby fennel bulb finely chopped
- Chives, nasturtium flowers to garnish
Method
- If using chicken breast place in a ceramic baking dish, add salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice & 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake for approx 25-30mins at 180.
- Allow to rest before dicing into little 1cm cubes. If using a bbq chook. Remove skin. Chop breast meat and shred brown meat.
- Mix together mayo, sour cream, spring onion, herbs, almond &or fennel, S+P and lemon zest.
- Add this to the chicken bit by bit until you think the chicken is well coated but not dripping with mayo etc.
- Melt the butter completely. Stir well. Lay out the slices of bread in pairs. Using a pastry brush paint each slice of bread with butter.
- Top 1/2 of the slices with the chicken mix. Leaving a 1cm border of bread free of the chicken mix adjacent to the crust. Use the other 1/2 of the bread to complete the sambos, popping the buttered side on top of the chicken mixture.
- Stack in piles of two whole sandwiches.
- Using an electric knife, cut all of the crusts off. (This is why you leave a 1cm border next to the crust free of chicken mixture, what a waste it would be to cut this off!!).
- Cut the crust less sambos into 3 fingers or 4 squares. Sprinkle with chives, flowers, left over almond and chopped herbs. Cover completely with cling film until serving.
- For circle sambos use a cookie cutter to cut out 3-4 circles from each slice. Top base with a tablespoon++ of chicken mix. Top with a circle and roll in herbs and flowers.
For more of Annabel’s recipes:
foodbyannabel.com.au
@foodbyannabel
Photography: Claire Cosh