why I want a cloak of invisibility: roasted beef, pesto and sweet pepper toasted sandwich

roast beef, pesto and sweet pepper
toasted sandwich

There is one useful kitchen gadget that I want more than any of the others. Not a super-duper Kitchenaid (in raspberry pink, naturally), nor a turbo-charged grinder that turns solid spices or whole nuts into a fragrant powder in a matter of seconds. I don't want a sous vide water bath, nor dry ice. The only gadget that I really crave is a Cloak of Invisibility.

A cloak of invisibility would improve my kitchen life no end. This is not because I have had another bloody disaster and want to quietly slink away unmolested to have a gentle snivel. It is not because I foresee the possibility for high jinks. I don't want world domination or super stealth powers and I have no plans to rescue a princess, brides or otherwise. No, the reason why I want a cloak of invisibility is because I am pretty sure it is the only way to hide Sunday's roast lunch leftovers from marauding fridge foragers.

All of my well-made plans for using up the leftovers are gone in a flash as the carcass or bones are picked over. While this removes my dilemma of what to do with the leftovers, it means that plans for a second or third meal are gone forever.

So if there are any scientists reading this, working on the invisibility cloak project, could you please get a move on and get this cloak to work; it would improve my life in the kitchen, and I might even make you a cake.

Fortunately this Sunday we had a braised brisket again - I had deliberately bought a much larger piece of meat than I needed because I had very definite plans for what to do with the leftovers. Of course, one of the reasons I like brisket is that because it needs long, slow cooking, it is much cheaper than buying say a rib of beef. Once sliced up, I was able to set aside a wodges of beef to make one of my favourite sandwiches - a gorgeous combination of juicy roast brisket, bitter-sweet parsley and stilton pesto, and sweet roasted peppers with extra blue cheese. Definitely a packed lunch worth planning for.

Skill level: Easy

ingredients:
rustic loaf, (slightly stale is good)
olive oil
butter
1 x garlic clove, halved
roast beef
parsley, walnut and stilton pesto
roasted peppers (roast your own or use roast peppers in a jar)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few fresh basil leaves
blue cheese (or a little of whatever you fancy)

directions:

1. Melt a little olive oil and butter together and season with salt and black pepper. Brush one side of one slice of bread with the melted butter mixture and rub with a little of the fresh garlic.
2. Grill this slice, under a gentle heat, until just beginning to brown.
3. Spread the untoasted side of the bread with a layer of pesto. Add a layer of cheese, roasted peppers and slices of beef.
4. Spread a little pesto on the untoasted slice of bread and pop on top of the sandwich. Brush the unadorned slide of bread with a little more of the butter mixture and rub with garlic. Return to the grill and heat gently for a minute or so until the top side of bread is beginning to brown.
5. Serve immediately.

tips:

• Use traditional basil pesto instead of parsley pesto.
• Replace the roasted peppers with roasted courgettes or ratatouille.
• Replace the slices of blue cheese with Gruyère, Emmenthal or Appenzeller.
• A half teaspoon of smoked paprika adds a lovely smoky flavour.

Since this is such a thrifty dish and a delicious way of using up leftovers, I am entering this into the Credit Crunch Munch challenge hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and  Camilla at Fab Food 4 All. They are sharing how we can enjoy great food, but still spend less or save some money. Using up the sort of leftovers that usually gets binned, and turning it into something you actually look forward to makes a great credit crunch munch!