Is That A Banana In My Sandwich?
I have to hand it to the Swedes — they're down with some pretty bizarre food. And I'm on board with that. Americans are entirely too weirded out by combinations that "don't go," and I'm aiming to change that for everyone's sake. This photo comes to us from a Swedish Flickr user who makes nasty-sounding sandwiches look awesome. That's liver pâté and sliced bananas. To those who don't think bananas could possibly go in a sandwich other than peanut butter: hang on.
It's not that bananas inherently belong in savory sandwiches, it's that they're not banned from them. You can't ban a banana. (Say that five times fast.) Anyway, by keeping an open mind you can pull off sweet-umami, rich, buttery, smooth and many other positive sandwich adjectives using bananas.
First trick: as seen in the photo, banana chunks actually do provide the sweet, fruity element that complements pâté so nicely. To make a balanced sandwich, however, a crisp, crunchy element is necessary. No, not pickles. Good guess, though. A couple of leaves of sweet Boston or bibb lettuce should do it, and a soft, sweet bread like challah, brioche or even potato bread rounds the whole thing out. I see you're donning your "consideration" face. Thank you
Next up, cheese. Fromage blanc, mascarpone or even whipped cream cheese provides a tangy, acidic bite to bananas' sweet creaminess. Let them mingle betwixt two slices of raisin bread for a surprisingly well-rounded sandwich.
Finally, bacon. No, not bacon and peanut butter (although that is one of my favorite sandwiches of all time). Just bananas and bacon and a little maple syrup, preferably on whole wheat toast. Come on, that sounds good — smooth, creamy and sweet meets crunchy, salty and smoked. It doesn't have to be your new first choice — this is straight-up bachelor chow we're talking about. But until there's a special someone looking over your shoulder asking "are you seriously making a bacon and banana sandwich right now" it's worth it to try as many palate-expanding combinations as you can.
More sandwich alchemy for lunch on Food Republic: