Friday, April 5, 2013

Pepper and Egg Sandwich

When I lived in Chicago, Italian Beef stands were everywhere. During lent, when beef wasn't a big seller, many of those beef stands served pepper and egg sandwiches. Since they were sold for such a short time, I looked forward to them every year.

The sandwiches were pretty simple - scrambled eggs and the same hot peppers that were put on the sandwiches. These days, a pepper and egg sandwich isn't just for lent. It's a quick and easy meal, and a good way to use up baguettes or French bread that's left from other purposes.

Hot giarniera are the typical peppers used for these sandwiches, but those are a little hard to come by here in Colorado. Other hot peppers can be used, though. they're not quite the same thing, but that's fine. A spicy pepper and egg sandwich is still a good thing.

The amount of peppers you want to use depends on your level of heat tolerance as well as how hot the peppers are. You can always add more peppers to the sandwich as you eat, so err on the side of less-spicy, if you're not sure.

This sandwich is almost too simple to require a recipe, but if you've never lived in an area where these are common, you might never think of making one. Check it out!

Pepper and Egg Sandwich

1 tablespoon butter
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk or half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup hot pepper
1 baguette

Melt the butter in a nonstick pan. Beat the eggs, half-and-half, and salt together, and add it to the pan, Cook on medium-low, stirring as needed. Add the peppers when the eggs are about halfway cooked.

Continue cooking until the eggs are done to your liking.

Split the baguette in half, lengthwise, not quite all the way through the bread. Pile the eggs into the bread, then slice into serving-size pieces.

Serve immediately, with extra peppers for those who like it hotter.

Note: a little mayonnaise would be a good addition, but it's not traditional. A few slices or wedges of fresh tomato would be nice, when tomatoes are in season.
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