Gourmet Coffee Online

Dont you just love bizarre sandwiches? You dont have to actually make them or even eat them at all, but for some reason its kind of nice to know that there are those who like such things! I mean, ever heard of a “St. Paul”, which is apparently only available in St. Louis, Missouri, and only then in certain old-timey Chinese restaurants? Its a hunk of egg foo young on white bread with lettuce, tomato, and mayo ” sometimes even a slice of American cheese! Or the chow mein sandwich, which apparently is a common menu item on Route 195 in southern Massachusetts ” and not confined to Chinese restaurants! Others report having peanut butter-and-onion sandwiches, peanut butter-and-pickle sandwiches, or peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches with crushed potato chipsthere is no end to the variety of bizarre sandwiches out there!

Adding to the long sandwich list is the “Avraham Karadi” Sandwich. This sandwich is also called the “Avi Karadi” in some areas. It appears that this sandwich was someone’s idea of a faux gourmet item. I say this because it involves a bit of work in only gathering the ingredients, then ther is preparing them. While I can not imagine enjoying the samdwich after the resulting mix of flavors, I am sure there are those that love it. In fact I have heard some talk about it being pretty popular in certain areas. Anyway here is the list of ingredients, so you can judge for yourself:

Passum, a sweet wine sauce from ancient Roman times. This is produced by boiling the must (whole fruits including the seeds, stems, and leaves pressed) and then adding honey in order to thicken it up.

Garum, an ancient Roman salty fish sauce, approximated today by combining passum with a fish paste and oregano.

Pine nut sauce, also an ancient Roman standby, made by combining vinegar, pine nuts, and honey, with some pepper and lovage.

Finally, and as desired, you may use spinach and onions as well as lettuce and tomatoes. When it comes to the bread many choose rye bread, but some do like Black Russian Bread as an alternative. Egg paste, as found in egg salad, is also sometimes used. Pastrami or Roast Beef are the meats of choice. Then there are the variations, there are too many to go over them all, just keep in mind they all pretty much keep within these ingredients. Curiously, I was not able to find out where the nickname of the “Avraham Karadi” or “Avi Karadi” came from for this sandwich.

1. The Passum: Reducing it to one-tenth its volume, start by cooking the grape juice. Feel free to add honey to taste.

2. Make the garum: Add to passum two tablespoonfuls of fish paste, with pinch of oregano.

3. Make the pine nut sauce: Soak pine nuts three hours in vinegar, then blend with honey and dashes of lovage and pepper.

4. The Sandwich: Put your egg paste on the bread. Put in your choice of meat, add vegetables, pour on passum, garum, and pine nut sauce, and be generous.

All done, enjoy your “Avraham Karadi” (aka “Avi Karadi”) sandwich!