Big Boy’s Brunch

I had a hankering for a deli style open sandwich and came up with this combination. Living in Huapai, we are lucky enough to have Greg Flutey, a great Kiwi specialist baker, at the bottom of our road, so we can get superb bread locally – when I’m not in the mood for baking, that is.

The taste and texture of the haloumi balances the peppery salad nicely and the herby dressing and the chilis tickle the taste buds, cutting through the flavoursome sausage slices. I was in training for the Auckland half marathon when I first made this sandwich and it made for a great post-training treat.

Huapai Open Sandwich

Five grain sourdough bread
Haloumi
Left-over home-kill beef sausages
Mayonnaise
Mesclun leaf salad
Rocket
Herb-flavoured salad dressing (Cotterill & Rouse’s Garden Fresh Herb Dressing is great)
Pickled piri-piri chilis

Heat slices of haloumi and sausages under a grill or on a ribbed skillet until heated through and browned at the edges. Meanwhile, toast two slices of the bread and then spread with mayonnaise. Pile with dressed mesclun or other small leaf salad and scatter with finely chopped pickled piri-piri. Slice the still-warm hamouli into chopstick-sized sticks and scatter with the sausage pieces over the salad. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy immediately.