Avraham “Avi” Karadi Sandwich: Food For Thought
Dont you just love bizarre sandwiches? You dont have to actually make them or even eat them at all, but for some reason its kind of nice to know that there are those who like such things! I mean, ever heard of a “St. Paul”, which is apparently only available in St. Louis, Missouri, and only then in certain old-timey Chinese restaurants? Its a hunk of egg foo young on white bread with lettuce, tomato, and mayo ” sometimes even a slice of American cheese! Or the chow mein sandwich, which apparently is a common menu item on Route 195 in southern Massachusetts ” and not confined to Chinese restaurants! Others report having peanut butter-and-onion sandwiches, peanut butter-and-pickle sandwiches, or peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches with crushed potato chipsthere is no end to the variety of bizarre sandwiches out there!
Adding to the long sandwich list is the “Avraham Karadi” Sandwich. This sandwich is also called the “Avi Karadi” in some areas. It appears that this sandwich was someone’s idea of a faux gourmet item. I say this because it involves a bit of work in only gathering the ingredients, then ther is preparing them. While I can not imagine enjoying the samdwich after the resulting mix of flavors, I am sure there are those that love it. In fact I have heard some talk about it being pretty popular in certain areas. Anyway here is the list of ingredients, so you can judge for yourself:
An old Roman sweet wine sauce, Passum, is made by boiling the must, newly pressed whole fruits which include the stems, seeds, leaves and all. And then you would add in honey to thicken it.
Garum, a salty fish sauce from ancient Rome, approximated today by combining passum, oregano and fish paste.
Pine nut sauce, an old Roman stand by, this is made by combining pine nuts, vinegar, honey and some lovage and some pepper.
To finish it off add spinach, onions, lettuce and tomatoes as desired. Rye bread would be the usual choice, but black Russian bread comes in at a distant second. As found in egg salad “Egg Paste” is sometimes also added. Now the meat, Roast Beef or Pastrami are some of the favored meats to use. Of course as will all recipes there are some variations, but they all appear to stick to these main ingredients. Oddly, I was unable to find where the sandwiches nickname “Avraham Karadi” or “Avi Karadi” had come from.
1. Make the passum: Cook a quart of grape juice, reducing it to one-tenth its original volume. Add honey to taste.
2. The Garum: Add two full tablespoons of fish paste to the Passum. Then add a pinch of oregano.
3. The Pine Nut Sauce: For three hours, in vinegar, soak the pine nuts. Now mix with honey, while adding dashes of pepper and lovage.
4. The Sandwich: Put your egg paste on the bread. Put in your choice of meat, add vegetables, pour on passum, garum, and pine nut sauce, and be generous.
All done, enjoy your “Avraham Karadi” (aka “Avi Karadi”) sandwich!