What would you add to this roast beef sandwich to make it PERFECT?

[butterfat]

I'm on a kick of making roast beef sandwiches with Boursin and our garden tomatoes. It's pretty delicious and addictive, but I feel it's missing something. What would you add, if anything, to this lineup?

Lightly toasted whole grain bread
Thick spread of Boursin on first slice of bread
Several thin slices of homegrown beefsteak tomatoes (lightly salted)
Thin slices of red onion
Layer of baby arugula leaves drizzled with homemade balsamic vinaigrette
Thin slices of home-roasted beef (not super rare but nice and pink, quite lean)
Another drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette and a grinding of black pepper
Second piece of toasted bread

(Cut in half into triangles and devour before it gets soggy.)

So, I feel it may need something sharp or tangy. I thought the vinaigrette would function that way but it still needed a little something I felt. Any ideas? Any perfect spreads for that second slice of bread?

Thanks in advance Hounds :)

[alkapal]

fine cut branston pickle. good with pork sammies, too.

[thew]

mustard and or horseradish for sure

[elgordoboy]

Salt. Directly onto the sliced beef.

[jayt90]

Mustard? A full seeded Dijon, freshly opened , will add some zip.

[souschef]

In keeping with my preference for subtle flavours, how about roasted garlic? Roast a whole head, then squeeze out the puree and mix it with the Boursin (at room temperature, of course). As a variation you may also want to try a dash of Worcester sauce instead of balsamico. And no, I do not recommend Tabasco - I hate spicy hot stuff.

[kparke30]

I love marinated mushrooms in a rb sand.....or you could use a chunk of feta instead of Boursin! Either will give it some tang - maybe try both!

[alkapal]

add cream cheese with chopped pimento-stuffed green olives. melty in the skillet. yum.

[butterfat]

Two updates on sandwich variations:

for lunch I made myself the original sandwich, except on a lightly toated white roll (large soft Portuguese-style roll), and I added some sliced cucumbers (they were cold, sorry) and dressed the arugula with lemon juice and olive oil instead of balsamic vinaigrette. It was good, but somehow the combination of the roll and adding the cucumbers destroyed the structural integrity of the sandwich and it became impossible to eat and all my tomatoes kept sliding out. Very distressing.

Then, for dinner, I tested out a variation on DH. He loves STRONG flavors to the point of being crude (hot sauce, raw garlic, etc.), so I devised a variation with this in mind. It went:

whole grain toast with a thick spread of Boursin
thick slices of Brandywine tomato (salted)
thin slices of red onion
thinly sliced roast beef piled high
horseradish atop the beef (the prepared kind in vinegar, sorry)
cheddar cheese
whole grain toast spread with dijon mustard

He LOVED it and I tasted it and it was surprisingly good. The horseradish did overpower the Boursin a bit, but it brightened the sandwich up so much it was worth it. And the cheddar really worked. The Boursin is functioning more as mayonnaise in the sandwich, so I feel it's perfectly acceptable to have another cheese in addition. I must say it was probably better than the original sandwich. (Even though I was sad to see the arugula go.)

I love the idea of radish, I'll have to try that next! And I think peperoncini or some kind of hot pickled something would also be wonderful.

[moh]

Such a great thread, Butterfat!

If you like hot pickled stuff, you might also consider adding Italian spicy marinated eggplant for that extra kick. These things are so great on sandwiches! The only caveat would be that it might also overwhelm the Boursin, although I think it would be just fine, and the creaminess of the Boursin should not be discounted. Hummana hummana...

[pondrat]

I like to work in some soft gorgonzola and carmelized onions on my roast beef..

[mcc]

I like pepperoncini peppers on a roast beef sandwich. Maybe that would add to yours.
Sounds good as is to me!

[laliz]

I'd take out the onion, arugula, and balsamic.
I would butter the second slice of bread and put on some dijon and butter lettuce

[Bat Guano]

Can't really go wrong with horseradish.

[KaimukiMan]

lots of wonderful suggestions, but i think with roast beef, less is more.

[monkeyrotica]

Same here. Fresh bread, roasted beef, salt, pepper, horseradish. That's plenty for me. I want to focus on the meat.

The old English rule was to serve the beast with whatever it ate. So a pig fed on apples would be smoked with applewood and served with roasted apples as a side. In the case of roast beef, maybe some carmelized onions?

[kathinmadrid]

Someone already said avocado but how about guacamole?

[msmarabini]

Why not fresh shaved radishes?...they give a nice fresh juicy spicy/peppery zing and go great with roast beef. (and boursin). And instead of wine vinaigrette, you could try a grainy-mustard type dressing.

Cheers!

[phantomdoc]

Roasted/grilled red pepper. Fresh horseradish. Fresh mayonnaise.

[butterfat]

Oh yum, thank you for all these suggestions everyone! I love horseradish of course, but I may consider that as a variation on the sandwich since I do want to taste the Boursin (trashy though it is, and yes it is the herb kind, purchased in a multi-pack at Costco. DH asked me if I was sure I could make it through all that Boursin and I just laughed at him).

I'm definitely going to try experimenting with cucumber, roasted peppers, lemon, hot peppers, red wine vinegar (makes perfect sense, the balsamic is too sweet), and a peppercorn blend (not all at once). A1 . . . that is interesting. I'll have to mull that one over. Oh and chutney sounds great, if I could figure out what kind would be ideal.

I'll report back :)

[yayadave]

I suppose you're using the Boursin in your mashed potatoes, also. Right?

[butterfat]

oh yes of course :) It's not really that time of year, but I do love it this way!

[souschef]

You sound as crazy as I am about Boursin I always have some in the fridge. Have you tried chicken breasts stuffed with Boursin, then breaded and baked? Simple, but Deeeelicious. I have even seen Boursin allowed to melt into a soup!

[butterfat]

I'm definitely going to try that. Would Boursin mashed potatoes on the side be overkill? ;)

[souschef]

It would not be overkill because the texture would be different.......and because you can never have too much Boursin.

[Cowprintrabbit]

I'm on a chutney kick right now, but I would use the semi-savory kind, not the jammy kind.

[ipsedixit]

A couple of slices of avocado.

[mojoeater]

One of my favorite burgers is topped with boursin, caramelized red onion, lettuce, tomato, and a dash of A1.

[dockhl]

Sounds like a great sandwich, altho I'd not use balsamic (too sweet) but a different vinegar (maybe sherry). I'd also probably grill it to nice and buttery-crusty, rather than toasted. I'd use rye bread and serve it with a sour pickle.

[souschef]

Looking at the others recs: I would not use horseradish or blue cheese as I think they would kill the taste of the Boursin (and I LOVE Boursin). I would add perhaps thinly sliced room temperature cucumbers as I love their fresh taste. The salt on the tomatoes should be fleur de sel, and I would use a grind of a 5-pepper mix instead of black pepper as I find black pepper too strong. Oh, and I would make it on crusty white bread (don't like whole grain).

[wolfe]

Macklin Catering of Dallas would perhaps disagree. On their sandwich menu.
Roast Beef & Boursin
Roast beef, Swiss cheese, spring mix, tomatoes, and boursin-horseradish cream spread on a corn-dusted hoagie

[HillJ]

thank you wolfe, and a mighty delicious sandwich at that!

[souschef]

When Boursin is mentioned I automatically think of the one I like - the herb and spice; I would think that horseradish would overwhelm it so you could not taste it. Perhaps the pepper one is used in the sandwich ? I dislike the pepper one as it is too spicy hot for me.

[porker]

I would dunk the bread into beef drippings before adding anything, but then 'devouring it before it gets soggy' may not apply.
I second the basil leaves.
I would also add a hot pepper paste of some sort - the Italian style of grinding hot pappers with olive oil.

[HillJ]

Next time, I'd sub horseradish mayo for the Boursin

I love fresh shredded mint with roast beef, so I'm thinking mint pesto would be interesting.

[JalamaMama]

I would skip the boursin and use lemony mayo and 2 slices of horseradish cheese from BoarsHead.

The arugula, thin red onion= perfection!!!

[HillJ]

JalaMama, you are ringing my bell with those yummy suggestions.
Writing grocery list now (wink)!

[ccqueen]

a mix of blue cheese & boursin? or maybe just some cornichons or a good pickle on the side. the sandwich sounds perfect to me!

[Cookiefiend]

I was thinking a blue brie instead of the boursin ...

[BeefeaterRocks]

Horseradish?

[lexpatti]

Absolutely horseradish - any roast beef sandwich isn't worth it without horseradish!!!

[Bigley9]

Sounded so good but I couldn't believe there wsn't horseradish

[amyvc]

I'm in the horseradish club. SO necessary on Roast beef. But I like it in a creamy mustardy sauce with a bit of mayo.

[smarsh]

How about a red wine vinaigrette instead of balsamic--may give that sharpness you're looking for.

[Alfred G]

Wow! The sandwich sounds great as is. I think I'm going to make one now. Don't change a thing.

[goodhealthgourmet]

layer a couple of fresh basil leaves in there.

[rabaja]

Good one!

[hill food]

I was gonna say that. dang.

[TongoRad]

Maybe puree some roasted red peppers and mix it in with the boursin, it'll definitely give you some pop, depending on how much you use.

[mnosyne]

How about a few capers?