Growing up, my palette became accustomed to mediocre sandwiches. Whatever little time I had before we rushed off to school, I’d slap together some ham and cheese on bread, maybe add a little lettuce if I was feeling fancy.
Then, one day, my mom brought home huge kaiser rolls and my world changed. These big buttery pieces of bread deserved more than some boring deli slices! It became a special treat to make the biggest, most flavorful, layered sandwich I could think of.
One of my favorites was always a roast beef sandwich! The classic beef and horseradish never lets me down, but over time, and much experimenting, I found a way to kick it up a notch!
The key, in my humble opinion, it layering flavors! The perfect sandwich needs to hit all of the senses: sweet, savory, spicy, tangy.
Layers on Layers!
- Crusty bread reign supreme! The foundation of any great sandwich is bread that can stand up to the filling. My bread of choice is a chewy, toasted ciabatta roll.
- Roast beef- I always ask for medium rare slices at my deli counter, but grab what you prefer!
- Arugula- the nice peppery leaf offers a great counter-balance to the sweet tender meat.
- Home-made roasted red peppers are so simple! I can’t always find jarred peppers in the grocery store. Instead, I just pop a fresh bell pepper under the screaming hot broiler or on the grill to get the same smoky charred sweet pepper
- Pickled Onions – These offer a nice tangy, acidic bite to brighten up the whole sandwich. They me recipe for quick and easy pickled red onions.
- Herb Horseradish Sauce- this sauce takes the classic roast beef and horseradish to the next level! Full of bright herbs and lemon zest, this spicy sauce will make the sandwich sing.
Together, these all make the perfect bite! Don’t settle for a boring roast beef sandwich ever again. You can have this simple but sophisticated sandwich on your plate instead!
Roast Beef Sandwich with Herb Horseradish Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 Ciabatta rolls or French baguettes
- 1 lb medium rare roast beef
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 red bell pepper could use jarred roasted red pepper instead
- ½ cup pickled red onions
Herb Horseradish Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup prepared horseradish more or less to taste
- 3 tbsp dijon mustard
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Herb Horseradish Sauce
- Finely chop the parsley and combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl
- Place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes
Roasted Red Pepper
- Cut bell pepper in half and place on a lined baking sheet seed side down. Drizzle with olive oil and place on the top rack of the oven. Set the over to broil (I used 525 degrees) and broil the pepper until the skin begins to develop black char spots.
- Remove the pepper from the over and place in a paper bag to steam.
- After 5 minutes, remove the pepper from the bag and peel off the charred skin. Cut into slices
Roast Beef Sandwich
- Toast the roll or baguette
- Place roast beef, arugula, pickled onions, and roasted red pepper slices on the bottom half of the bread.
- Spread the herb horseradish sauce on the top half of the bread, place on the sandwich, and serve.
