This isn't your ordinary roast beef sandwich. It has the ultimate flavor combination of fresh medium rare roast beef, golden caramelized onions, French blue cheese, spicy mustard, and baby spinach. Instead of using grocery store roast beef, I went to Boeufhaus, a new French/German fusion restaurant in Ukrainian Village which Bon Appetite named one of the 50 Best New Restaurants. One thing that the article didn't make clear is that Boeufhaus is also a butcher shop! On Tuesdays - Saturdays from 11-7 you can go in and pick up their roast beef, homemade sausages, 55 day dry aged ribeye, and other meats from the butcher case.
Since I was using top notch roast beef, I put a lot of care into selecting the other ingredients for my sandwich. I used my favorite mustard - Sir Kensington's Spicy Brown (it's not very spicy). The blue cheese is Fourme d'Ambert, a milder blue cheese that complimented the roast beef without overwhelming it. I discovered the cheese at a Cheeses of Europe event hosted by the French Dairy Board earlier that week and was thrilled when they gave me some to take home. If you aren't a fan of blue cheese, you could definitely use brie instead.
The Boeufhaus roast beef was fantastic. It was easily the best roast beef I have tasted. It made me excited to go back and try the dinner menu - which involves Short Rib Beignets, boeuf fat fries, and lots of beef.
The recipe is below, I didn't get into specific proportions since sandwiches are a matter of personal preference. Some people like lots of meat, others love extra cheese, I will let you make those decisions for yourself.
Ingredients
- 1 Large Onion
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- Roast Beef
- Blue Cheese
- Spicy Brown Mustard
- Baby Spinach
- Rolls
Instructions
- First you need to caramelize the onion. Slice the onion into long thin even slices. It's important that they are even so that the onion caramelizes evenly. Then warm the olive oil in a heavy bottomed skillet or sauce pan over medium low heat. Add the onions. Stir frequently, until they reach a golden color. You can increase the heat to medium once the onions are soft - but only if you stir them every minute. This is more labor intensive, but it speeds up the process, which will take at least 30 minutes.
- Once the onions are caramelized you are ready to assemble your sandwich. I started by slicing the rolls in half, adding a nice layer of spicy mustard on both sides of the roll, and then layering the spinach, roast beef, blue cheese, and caramelized onions on top. Eat right away so that the onions don't make the bread soggy.
