In America, early November means cold, blustery days, elections, and general sadness that spooky season is over. Truly, early November gets a bad rap. We foodies try to portray this time of year in more positive terms. For us, the focus is squarely on 3 November – National Sandwich Day – and since sandwiches bring people nothing but delight, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite soup and sandwich pairings for you to eat the early November blues away!
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
We went with a classic to start off with. When people talk about a soup and sandwich combination, this is exactly what I picture. Back in university, this was my lunch of choice at the local loose-leaf tea shop that was close to my campus. Their incredibly thick bread slices with melty mozzarella cheese paired with a tomato soup made rainy afternoons while studying for exams all the more bearable.
Club Sandwich & Chicken Noodle Soup
Okay, we went for two absolute classics to start off with. If chicken noodle soup is the most famous of all the soups in the world, then the obvious pairing is a club sandwich – turkey or ham with bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo. I know this is an oft-used stand-up comedy joke, but I really didn’t have any inkling what ‘club’ the sandwich belonged to for the longest time. For any of you who are confused, you do not have to be a member of the Union Club of New York City (where the sandwich originated in 1889) to order it.
Gruyere and Apple Sandwich & Pumpkin Soup
This one is for you autumn fanatics. Pumpkin soup is a go-to soup for me – so much so that the first piece of work of mine that was ever published in a book was a pumpkin soup recipe that appeared in a bacon-centric cookbook. Seriously, that happened. Despite a seemingly odd combination of ingredients (that feels vaguely French to me), Gruyere cheese and apple slices, this is a sandwich that pairs superbly with my favourite soup.
Minestrone & Bruschetta
Bruschetta may not be popularly considered a sandwich, but if we’re going from historical precedent, sandwiches only really need to have bread, a topping, and be able to be eaten with the hands. Bruschetta ticks all of those boxes. If you’re in the mood for an Italian-themed sandwich and soup combo, you can’t go wrong with a classic combination of minestrone and bruschetta.
Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup & Quesadillas
Quesadillas are a sandwich and I dare you to prove me wrong. Maybe I added this soup and sandwich combination to the list because I’ve been craving Mexican food for the past couple of months and there aren’t a lot of restaurants in my delivery range in Johannesburg. But doesn’t this sound like the perfect combo to warm you up during cold, grey November?
What do you think? Are there any classic soup and sandwich combinations that I left off the list? Disagree with my contention that bruschetta and quesadillas are sandwiches? Let me know below!
Want to comment?
Sign in or Register