I have an aversion to sandwiches for dinner. Now I’m not saying it never happens. And burgers don’t count. But something feels wrong about ordering your dinner slapped between two pieces of bread, no matter how yummy it sounds. Forgive me but I don’t want my entire meal in a hoagie… or a panini… or a wrap. I like a full plate of food at dinnertime. Save your sandwiches for lunch.

I’ve made exceptions for sure. A friend and I cooked up Jeff Mauro’s (The Food Network’s “Sandwich King”) steak sandwich one night and it was to die for. Even then I would probably have preferred the steak alone and saved the sandwich for lunch entertaining; perhaps at a fancy tailgate or something.

This weekend, I came across an overlooked recipe from my (yes, you’ve heard this before) favorite British food magazine, delicious., from the November issue that peaked my fancy. The recipe seemed intriguingly Mediterranean with a bit of British flare (they love their peas). The page had been folded down, probably because it is in the burger species (or kebab genus), but ultimately I most likely would not have returned to make it – it’s basically a sandwich.

So this week I fought through my pet peeve, my sandwiches-for-dinner aversion, my feeling that I’m cheated by a meal on bread. For my self-imposed The Taste Tuesdays challenge, I braved sandwiches for dinner (just wait until you hear how dramatic I get when I take on the next taste challenge – offal). 

Make a pea salad by mashing together (thawed) frozen peans, lemon zest, chopped fresh mint, and salt. I just use the back of a fork for this.

Add cumin, chili powder, salt, and very finely chopped red onion to ground beef. Then mix together the patties. Go ahead, get your hands in there. Get a little messy.

Once you form the meat into mini burger-sized rounds, grill on a hot grill pan for about 5 minutes, flipping after the first 3. Add your flatbread to the same grill pan to soak up a little of the beef juice and get some nice charred lines. Note that I used the flattest flatbread I could get my hands on. If I am going to make sandwiches for dinner, it doesn’t mean I have to go bread crazy.

Assemble your bite-sized sandwiches by making a base of Greek yogurt, sprinkled with the pea salad, then topped with the beef patty and a roasted red pepper bite. And voila! Sandwiches for dinner is served.

Spiced Beef Patties w/ Crushed Pea Salad

*adapted from delicious. Magazine

Serves 6

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 oz. frozen peas, thawed

Zest of one lemon

2 Tbs. finely chopped mint

olive oil for the grill pan

6 flatbreads

1 roasted red pepper, cut into strips

Greek yogurt

Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat.

Mix the beef with the cumin, chili powder, and salt. Form into 12 patties. Drizzle each side with olive oil. Grill for 3 minutes per side, or until just cooked through.

Meanwhile, mash together the peas, mint, and lemon zest. Season with salt.

Assemble the sandwiches with about 2 Tbs of Greek yogurt, 1/6 of the pea mixture and red pepper strips and 2 patties.