Food Recipes Lunch Sandwiches & Wraps The Best Cucumber Sandwich 5.0 (3) 3 Reviews The only reason you think cucumber sandwiches are boring is because you haven't had one that is made right, says chef Vishwesh Bhatt. Benedictine, a creamy spread of cucumber and herbs; along with a spicy and herbaceous peanut pesto with serrano chile, cilantro, and citrus; and chaat masala add verve to these sandwiches. And after layering in the crisp cucumbers, spicy chile slices, and juicy tomatoes, take a bite. "Once you serve this one, it's going to become a fixture at your summer parties," Bhatt says. By Vishwesh Bhatt Vishwesh Bhatt F&W Star Chef » See All F&W Chef Superstars Restaurants: Snackbar Experience: Harvest Café (Oxford, MS), Henry (Oxford, MS), City Grocery (Oxford, MS, The Brown Palace Hotel (Denver, CO), Full Moon Grill (Boulder, CO), Blackwater Café (Jackson, MS) Education: University of Kentucky, Johnson & Wales (Miami) Vishwesh Bhatt began cooking simply to save money—the Gujarat, India-raised chef was a student at the University of Kentucky in Lexington when he started making his own rice and beans to cut down on his cafeteria costs. The habit eventually grew into a dinner party ritual. When a professor offered him $50 to prepare food at an event, Bhatt realized his hobby could become a career. His first restaurant job, in 1992, was at a health food spot in Oxford, Mississippi, called Harvest Café; it took him six more years to make the decision to go to culinary school at Johnson & Wales in North Miami. From the start, Bhatt had his sights on working in the South. “The produce that was available here—the greens, okra, black eyed-peas and eggplant—really made sense to me as an Indian immigrant,” he says. He joined chef John Currence on the line at City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi, in 2001 and he’s stayed with the restaurant group ever since. Bhatt opened Snackbar in 2009 under the City Grocery umbrella, connecting Southern and subcontinental foodways on one menu. His work earned him a People’s Best New Chef nomination from Food & Wine in 2011, and a James Beard Awards semifinalist slot for Best Chef: South in the same year. Here, Bhatt talks about merging ingredients and influences from the South and south Asia, India’s multicultural cooking and the magic of fresh herbs. What recipe are you most famous for? I believe it would be my okra chaat. It’s the one dish that truly reflects my journey: I’m a guy who grew up and learned to cook in India, and is now a chef in the South. It’s crispy fried okra with a bit of shallot, some lime juice, a little cilantro, some peanuts and spiced tomato. What two dishes really tell us your story as a chef? Definitely my collard greens. I braise them in a typically Southern way, but I season them the way my mother would. We sauté peanuts and onion in some clarified butter—I usually add some mustard seeds to the butter, which is a very Indian thing to do. I’ll add a little piece of bacon or ham for flavor, some stock, and cook them down. Gumbo is another dish that says a lot about me. It’s a dish that I learned once I moved to the US; I never had anything like it before I came here. But as an immigrant, gumbo makes a lot of sense to me. It’s a dish that has been influenced by a lot of people and cultures. Gumbo tells a story, and when I make it I feel like I’m adding to that story. I make mine with a nice dark roux, and there always has to be okra in there. What is your favorite cookbook of all time? When I was learning Western food, the book I used the most was actually Joy of Cooking. I’d use it for basic recipes: biscuits, chicken noodle soup, oyster stuffing and cornbread. What is your secret-weapon ingredient? I think it’s fresh herbs. It doesn’t matter whether it’s cilantro or fresh thyme or parsley or basil or sage. If you just work in a fistful of herbs at the very end they add a really nice complex dimension to everything. A sprinkle of mint on top of summer produce always makes things interesting—like watermelon or tomato with a little pinch of salt and mint. Name one indispensable store-bought ingredient. I would say canned beans. They are pretty hearty, so even if you don’t have a lot of meat you’ve got a fairly substantial meal. They’re easy to cook and they pick up seasoning very well. And you can use beans to stretch a little bit of meat—I used to do that in college. You’re planning a budget-friendly food trip—where would you go and why? Although I’ve been there many times since I left, I’ve never really gone to India just to eat. Just like the US, India has a huge population of immigrants. In Bombay there is the Farsi community of Persian immigrants and they have a really unique food culture. In Gujarat, where I grew up, there is a small community of Africans who have been in India for more than 200 years. The Chinese have been in West Bengal for 150 years. These communities have kept their food cultures, but also blended with the local flavors. I haven’t had the luxury of time to explore this stuff. If you were going to take Thomas Keller out to eat, where would you take him and why? I would take Thomas to a street food stall in my hometown of Gujarat. I think every time he goes out, people try to impress him. I’d want to eat something really simple with him, like a vada pav sandwich, which is essentially fried potatoes squashed in between some bread with a couple of chutneys. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 20, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Cedric Angeles Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 1 hr Servings: 4 Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients Benedictine Spread 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped (about 3/4 cup) 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 8 ounces mascarpone cheese 2 (4-ounce) bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (leaves and tender stems only) (about 2 1/4 cups) ½ cup finely chopped red onion (from 1 small onion) 1 medium-size fresh jalapeño (about 1 ounce), seeded and finely chopped 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill 1 teaspoon black pepper Peanut Pesto 2 (4-ounce) bunches fresh cilantro, chopped (leaves and tender stems only) (about 1 3/4 cups) 1 ½ cups raw peanuts 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons) 4 medium garlic cloves, chopped (about 4 teaspoons) 3 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger 1 small fresh serrano chile, seeded and chopped (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt Additional ingredients 8 (1 1/2-ounce) white bread slices (crusts removed, if desired) 24 (1/4-inch-thick) cucumber slices (from 2 [3-ounce] cucumbers) 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime) ½ teaspoon kosher salt 12 (1/4-inch-thick) plum tomato slices (from 2 [3-ounce] plum tomatoes) 1 teaspoon chaat masala (such as MDH) 1 small fresh serrano chile (about 1/2 ounce), seeded and finely chopped (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) Potato chips, for serving (optional) Directions Make the benedictine spread: Place cucumbers in a colander set over a bowl or sink, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Toss together using your hands to fully coat cucumbers in salt; let drain 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together cream cheese, mascarpone, parsley, onion, jalapeño, and dill in a medium bowl; set aside until ready to use. 2. Fold drained cucumber, black pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt into cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up 12 hours. Make the peanut pesto: Combine cilantro, peanuts, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, serrano, sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse until well blended and smooth, about 10 pulses, adding water 2 teaspoons at a time if needed to help process. (Alternatively, place in a mortar, and pound using a pestle, scraping down sides as you go until you have a smooth paste. Once smooth, thin the pesto with a bit of water if you prefer a thinner consistency.) Assemble the sandwiches: Make 2 rows of 4 bread slices each on a clean work surface or cutting board. On the bottom row, spread about 1/4 cup benedictine spread on each slice. On the top row, spread about 2 tablespoons peanut pesto on each slice. Toss together cucumber slices, lime juice, and salt in a small bowl; arrange evenly on bread slices on bottom row. Top bread slices on bottom row evenly with tomato slices, and sprinkle evenly with chaat masala and serrano. Sandwich the two topped bread slices together. If desired, cut sandwiches into halves or quarters, and serve with chips. Note Add fresh radishes and thinly sliced beets to these sandwiches in the springtime. Make Ahead Benedictine spread and peanut pesto can be refrigerated in separate airtight containers up to 3 days. Suggested Pairing Fruity, lightly herbal Prosecco: NV Bisol Jeio Prosecco Superiore. Originally appeared: June 2022 Rate It Print