.png)
If you love garlic and love Parmigiano-Reggiano then this sandwich is for you. Every time I went for wings and they had garpar sauce on the menu, it was hard for me to say no. I figured, why not turn garpar wings, which I love, into a sandwich. BAM! here you go. Enjoy!
CREAMY GARLIC GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH PICKLED ONIONS AND ARUGULA
Recipe by Mark Calaminici | Food Loves Company
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts, butterflied
Salt, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil, enough to coat chicken
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Smoked paprika, to taste
For the Garpar Sauce
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 bulb of roasted garlic
1 tbsp. Lemon juice
1 tsp. Lemon zest
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. Dried oregano
2 tbsp. Fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Sugar
1 clove raw garlic, grated or minced
Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated, to taste
Chili flakes, to taste
For the pickled red onions
1 med-large red onion, sliced into thin strips
1 cup Water
1 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. Sugar
Any seasonings you like to add to flavour the onions, like peppercorns, cinnamon stick, chilli, etc.
Arugula
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste
2 Brioche buns, sliced, buttered and toasted
Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and discard the papery outer layers of the garlic bulb. Slice the top half of the garlic head off. You want to see the cloves exposed. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper on the exposed cloves. Cover garlic head tightly in foil and place on a sheet pan and place in oven for 45-50 minutes or until cloves are golden and aromatic. Set aside.
3. Place the chicken breasts on a flat surface and slice in half (butterfly). Place chicken breast slices between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or heavy pan to pound the breast to flatten it to your desired thickness. Continue with the remaining breasts. Try and keep all the breasts equal with thickness. For the dry brine, just place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan lined with a wire rack. Season both sides with salt and place in the fridge for about an hour. If brining overnight, cover in plastic wrap. Once the chicken is ready, you can cover with some extra virgin olive oil and season with freshly cracked pepper and smoked paprika. Then rub in the seasonings and cook the chicken breast on the BBQ, charcoal grill or grill pan.
4. For the gar par sauce add everything to a bowl and mix to combine. Taste and adjust any seasonings. You can make ahead and keep in the fridge covered.
5. For the pickled onions, add sliced onions to a jar. You can add any seasonings you like to the jar. Combine water, vinegar and sugar to a small pot and bring to a simmer. Pour hot liquid over the onions and give a mix. Make sure onions are submerged under the liquid. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 3o minutes. You can make this ahead as well.
6. In a large bowl, add arugula, extra virgin olive, lemon juice and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Toss to incorporate all ingredients. Make this just before building the sandwich so the arugula doesn’t get soggy.
7. Lay buttered and toasted brioche bun on work surface. Add garpar sauce to the bottom half bun. Add chicken breast and top with arugula and pickled onions. Add more gar par sauce on he top half bun and enjoy.