The best sandwiches sit in the middle of a Venn diagram of flavours and textures – a Banh mi sandwich is sweet, sour and crunchy; a bacon sandwich with ketchup is crispy, salty and fruity; and a posh cucumber sandwich is fresh, creamy and delicate. The Serranito sandwich, an Andalucian classic, is a perfect mixture of crispy fried jamón and juicy pork, balanced with a subtle sour flavour from the roasted green pepper. Write it down on your tapas bucket list now!
As with many Spanish sandwiches (looking at you bocadillo de tortilla!), this is not one for the diet-conscious. But who cares when fried jamón is involved! Make a full-sized serranito for a delicious lunch, or impress your guests with a plate of mini serranitos at your next dinner party. Accompanied with some chips and an icy glass of lager (Cruzcampo please!), it’s a crowd-pleasing favourite that is quick, simple and relatively cheap to prepare!
Ingredients (makes 2 full sized serranitos)
1 green pepper
2 pork loin steaks (roughly 100g each)
2tbsp olive oil (+extra for green pepper)
4 slices of jamón
2 long, thin, soft buns
mayonnaise (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Wash your green pepper, dry, and rub with a small amount of olive oil. Place on a baking tray in the oven for around 30 minutes.
- While the pepper is cooking, place one pork loin steak between two pieces of clingfilm that are larger than the steak. Use a rolling pin to flatten the steak as much as possible – hit and roll it until it is around 1/2cm thick. Repeat with the second steak.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the steaks for several minutes on one side until golden. Turn over and cook for several more minutes. Remove from the pan and put to one side. If they look overly greasy, leave to rest on some kitchen roll.
- Add the slices of jamon to the oil in your frying pan over a medium heat. Watch closely as it will only need around 1 minute to crisp up. Remove when crispy and leave to rest on some kitchen roll.
- When the skin of your pepper is charred and falling away from the flesh, remove from the oven. Place it inside a plastic bag and twist to close. The steam will help all of the skin to fall off the flesh of the pepper.
- When the pepper is cool enough to touch, remove from the bag and make sure that all of the skin has come away. Cut into 2cm thick slices.
- Cut your buns in half. We toasted ours, but this is optional. Add mayonnaise if you like, and then place a pork steak, followed by 2 slices of crispy jamon and several slices of roasted green pepper. Your serranito sandwich is complete!
