Picture a sandwich that is crunchy and salty and juicy and refreshing. Maybe a BLT?  Close!  It’s my switched up BWT, a sandwich that has all the fine and familiar qualities of a BLT, and more!

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What’s a BWT?  It’s a bacon, watercress and tomato sandwich.  Yes, it sounds familiar, and it will have the comforting layers of red, green and toasty brown like a BLT, but I use W -- watercress -- instead of L -- lettuce.  Do you know that watercress (which looks like a variety of lettuce or parsley) is actually in the same family as radishes?  Expect a peppery punch!  It’s surprising that one simple substitution – watercress for iceberg lettuce – can unlock such spicy and satisfying flavor in a classic sandwich.

Another key to this recipe is the bread.  I am an old-school fan of squishy white bread, but in this recipe, I use a bread with bigger texture.  The reason is that iceberg lettuce, traditional to the BLT, adds crunch.  Watercress isn’t crunchy, so for this sandwich, use bread that has whole grains or seeds or both.  Get bite with your bread! 

Ingredients – Scale to preference and servings

Bacon – 2 pieces per sandwich
Watercress
Tomato
Sandwich bread
Mayonnaise
Salt

This is one of the easiest recipes on my website, and that’s okay!  Savory, satisfying food doesn’t have to be complicated.  Cook the bacon to your preference.  I like mine chewy, but if you like yours crispy, that is fine!  Wash and dry the watercress, and pick the leaves from the stems.  Use the leaves (be generous).  Slice a tomato, enough to cover the bread.  Toast your bread.  Now, assemble.

Spread mayo on both pieces of bread.  Layer tomato slices on both pieces of bread, and sprinkle the tomato with salt.  If you have a smoked salt, that would be a fun addition, but good old kosher salt or table salt is fine.  Next, add watercress to both slices of bread, and then pile on the bacon, so that it sits in the very middle of the sandwich.  Put it together.

Your layers are bread, mayo, tomato (salted), watercress, bacon, watercress, tomato (salted), mayo, and bread. 

Cut in half.  I’m a diagonal person, but the choice is yours, and dig in!

October 13, 2016​

BWT (Bacon, Watercress, Tomato)