The British Tea Sandwich Still Reigns

Memories Are Made of These

When browsing the Internet recently, I came upon some tea sandwiches, that were unbelievably easy to make. They brought back memories of being in London and having tea at Harrods and at the historic Brown Hotel. 

Building a Tea Sandwich

As it turned out, I had all the items on hand called for in my new-found recipe. First, I placed 9 slices of very thin, Pepperidge Farm white bread into a square. Then I pressed the slices together along their edges. Next I slacked it all with mayo and topped it with shredded Bibb lettuce. Over that I daubed chicken salad as per recipe—though I think it works better to spread on the chicken salad before the chopped lettuce.

Making It Easy

I cheated and went with Straub’s famous chickens salad. (Can you believe they sell 35 tons of it a year! That’s a lot of chicken.)

Removing the crust was traditionally thought to make the tea tidbits look daintier.

Be Innovative

When I brought up the recipe with some friends, I was told that adding more celery and onion to Straub’s salad takes it to a new level. So I added a bit, that I blitzed it in my mini chopper. (Next time I would shred the lettuce even smaller.)

Tuna salad works for a pinwheel filling, too, just as do some of the dairy case spreads.

Rather than chopped lettuce, I really think watercress would be daintier, but it’s often hard to come by.

The Fun Begins

Grab one end of the bread square and scroll it into a pinwheel. Wrap the roll snuggly in Saran and place in refrigerator for at least several hours. Slice into tea sandwiches using a serrated knife.

The Queen’s Preference

During my musings, I wondered what Queen Elizabeth preferred for afternoon tea. Siri informed me that cucumber tea sandwiches were among the former Queen’s favorites—though I didn’t get any definitive information on Camilla’s choice.

Then I thought: maybe I should try the sandwiches make of English cucumbers, sliced paper thin, and spread over cream cheese. My mother made them simply as finger sandwiches, triangles, or rounds pressed from a cookie cutter. I go for the pinwheels. Fun to make and fun to eat!

Mama’s tea sandwiches looked a lot like these, which can be assembled quickly.

Here’s how my version of the cuke-cream cheese sandwich turned out. I could use some work on the aesthetics.

The post The British Tea Sandwich Still Reigns appeared first on Good Food St. Louis.