Bougie Up That Sandwich
We’ve talked a lot about crazy sandwiches here at ES,and one of my favorites I’ve ever heard of is the Southside Slope sandwich available at Pittsburgh’s legendary Fatheads sandwich shop: fried pierogies and kielbasa sausage topped with onions, American cheese and “horsey sauce.”
One of these days I’ll make it to Pitt to try this beautiful blue collar creation, but in the meantime I’ll have to content myself with my own knockoff version.
I had a couple of leftover frozen Mrs. T’s potato pierogies the other day when inspiration hit and I started emptying my fridge. Of course, when I empty my fridge, I don’t find things like American cheese and horsey sauce, but some odd slices of prosciutto and a little bit of herbed cheese. OK, I admit, as much as I talk about American food, I’m a pretty bougie motherfucker. But I also have to say, my classed-up Southside Slope–we’ll call it the Southside Park Slope–was pretty freakin delicious…
The Southside Park Slope
– Fry up two leftover pierogies in butter – about four minutes per side, until golden brown.
– Meanwhile, lay out two slices of multigrain bread and put one slice of prosciutto across each.
– Cut one roasted red pepper in half and drop a half on each side.
– Top one side with a few slices of dill havarti cheese.
– Place your fried pierogies on the other side and assemble your sandwich.
– Re-butter that pan and and grill it up.
Results: As much as I have talked up the hilarious idea of a pierogi sandwich, I never really thought the carb-on-carb-on-carb thing made sense in a practical manner. IT DOES. The crisp of the fried dough and the mush of the spuds inside makes for amazingly rich bites – kind of like putting french fries on a burger or sandwich. The whole thing came together and I would definitely make it again. The only thing missing was some greens–if I had some baby spinach or arugula on hand I would have added that. And of course, a few crushed pine nuts thrown in wouldn’t ruin anything.
love pierogies, and I’m astonished by the number of people who have never tried them. I made some in soysauce the other day. Kind of an asian/polish fusion thang. the fried dough in between soft bread kinda scares me a little (I’m very texture-sensitive.) I think i’d toast up the bread. Now that my appetite is sufficiently piqued, it’s off to lunch I go. Thank you ES!
i bet using buttery mashed potato as a spread inside a toasted sandwich would also be amazing. will have to put that on my post-Tgiving to do list. not that i’m planning anything for the fall.