Eating well has never been easier, starting with this fresh take on a classic club sandwich, which piles one good thing upon another, starting with whole grain bread and white bean spread (together containing more than half your day's recommended fiber).
Servings: Makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
Spread:
  • 1 can (16 ounces) white beans (great northern or cannellini)
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves peeled garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • Salt
Sandwich:
  • 12 slices toasted whole wheat bread
  • 12 small inner leaves romaine lettuce
  • 8 slices (1/4-inch thick) tomato
  • 12 very thin slices red onion
  • 1 avocado , peeled, pitted, and sliced
  • 1/2 pound thinly sliced cooked chicken breast
  • 8 strips cooked bacon (optional)
  • 2 cups broccoli or alfalfa sprouts
Directions
To make a spread: Drain and rinse beans. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just golden. Add beans and cook, tossing, for 1 minute. Add wine and cook 1 minute more. Add broth and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a food processor. Add lemon juice, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste; puree until smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes to let cool and thicken.

Use ingredients to make 4 sandwiches. For each, put 2 tablespoons of spread on 1 bread slice; top with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Add another bread slice with 2 tablespoons spread, chicken, bacon, tomato, avocado, and sprouts; top with a final bread slice. If desired, cut sandwich and secure with wooden toothpicks.

Recipe variations:
  • Omit rosemary from spread, and add 4 or 5 chopped basil leaves.
  • For a kick, stir some ancho or poblano chili paste, harissa, or salsa into spread.
  • Substitute preserved tomatoes or pickled vegetables (such as zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, mushrooms, or onions) when fresh ones are out of season.
  • Use mesclun or arugula in place of romaine and omit chicken and bacon to make a vegetarian sandwich.
From Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook, by Laura Pensiero. Copyright (c) 2009 by Laura Pensiero. Published by William Morrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission.

From the August 2009 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

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