Ingredients
- 1 (4-ounce) log soft goat cheese, at room temperature, divided
- 2 tablespoons saba, vin cotto or balsamic syrup, divided (See *Note below.)
- 8 slices brioche or challah bread, toasted, divided
- 1 pound Greek-marinated chicken, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices, at room temperature
- 2 cups pickled beets, cut into cubes, divided
- 1/2 Granny Smith apple, cored, and thickly sliced
- 4 tablespoons honey
Directions
- To build the sandwiches, spread 1 tablespoon of the goat cheese on each piece of toasted bread. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of saba. Divide the chicken evenly on 4 of the bread slices, which will be the bottom halves of the sandwiches. Pile 1/2 cup of the pickled beets on the chicken, spreading it out to cover the surface.
- Shingle the sliced apples on top and drizzle with honey. Put the remaining 4 slices of bread on top to enclose the sandwich. Cut the sandwiches in half on the diagonal. Serves 4. *Note: Those familiar with Italian cuisine will recognize the ingredient saba vinegar, the sweet reduction of grape must, or cooked grape juice. Saba is produced by slowly simmering the must from the trebbiano grape, the same used for balsamic vinegar, except cooked down even more, until it turns sweet and syrupy. With a wonderful fruity character, saba has notes of grape, plum, and raisin. Try drizzling it over cheesecake, dressing a fruit salad, using it in marinades, or splashing a little over ice cream. In the south of Italy, saba is called vin cotto, and in L.A. it’s labeled balsamic syrup. Whatever you call it, you can find it at Italian specialty markets and well-stocked grocery stores. It’s a nice item to stock in your pantry.
More Recipes from The Lemonade Cookbook
• Avocado-Cherry Tomato Salad Recipe with Lime Vinaigrette• Israeli Couscous Recipe with Lemon-Truffle Vinaigrette• Coconut Cake Recipe
From The Lemonade Cookbook by Alan Jackson and Joann Cianciulli. Copyright © 2013 by Alan Jackson and Joann Cianciulli and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Press, LLC.
Discover simple preparations for those with a sophisticated palette in Chef Alan Jackson’s The Lemonade Cookbook (St. Martin’s Press, 2013), which emphasizes healthy dining while on-the-go. In this excerpt, from the chapter “Semi-Traditional Sandwiches,” Jackson uses the making of a great cheese plate an puts them in a Chicken and Goat Cheese Sandwich recipe.
You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: The Lemonade Cookbook
Embracing the fortitude of Napa cuisine, this dish reconstructs the essentials of a killer cheese plate and puts them in a sandwich! Goat cheese, apple, honey, and a dose of red wine (in this case saba, see *Note), kick off the base flavor, while chicken and beets provide the heft. The delectable result is an ultimate combination of meaty, earthy and fruity. Serve with an arugula-fig salad.
