Years ago, someone told me about Strammer Max which are open-faced sandwiches. But for the life of me, I cannot remember who that was. These sandwiches were originally popular in Berlin and other areas of eastern and southeastern Germany. Now, I understand that they are available practically all over Germany. This recipe is a good example of pub food, but because of the ingredients, I feel that you can savor the Strammer Max morning, noon or night.
Mince shallots and chives. Thinly slice tomatoes and set aside. Preheat oven to warm or 200 degrees F.
Place a frying pan on the stove at medium heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread.
Place butter side down in frying pan. Butter the other side.
Once browned, flip over and brown the other side. Place bread on baking sheet and set aside.
In the same pan, add some olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the shallots for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. After a minute or so, flip over the tomato mixture. Evenly divide the tomato mixture on the grilled bread.
In the same pan, warm the ham slices for a few minutes.
Then lay them over the toasted bread and tomato mixture.
Lay two slices Swiss cheese over the ham. Place in the oven so cheese has some time to melt a little.
In the same pan, add some butter. When melted, crack each of the eggs open and fry in the pan over medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste. The eggs should be prepared sunny side up. Spoon some of the melted butter over the egg whites until cooked. The yolk should still be slightly runny.
Remove the open-faced sandwiches from oven and place one or two each on plates. Lay one egg over the sandwiches and garnish with chives. Lay some cornichons on the plates for added crunch.
This serves 2-4 people. (I prefer just one sandwich, but Dave enjoyed two.)
Ingredients
Directions
Mince shallots and chives. Thinly slice tomatoes and set aside. Preheat oven to warm or 200 degrees F.
Place a frying pan on the stove at medium heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread.
Place butter side down in frying pan. Butter the other side.
Once browned, flip over and brown the other side. Place bread on baking sheet and set aside.
In the same pan, add some olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the shallots for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. After a minute or so, flip over the tomato mixture. Evenly divide the tomato mixture on the grilled bread.
In the same pan, warm the ham slices for a few minutes.
Then lay them over the toasted bread and tomato mixture.
Lay two slices Swiss cheese over the ham. Place in the oven so cheese has some time to melt a little.
In the same pan, add some butter. When melted, crack each of the eggs open and fry in the pan over medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste. The eggs should be prepared sunny side up. Spoon some of the melted butter over the egg whites until cooked. The yolk should still be slightly runny.
Remove the open-faced sandwiches from oven and place one or two each on plates. Lay one egg over the sandwiches and garnish with chives. Lay some cornichons on the plates for added crunch.
This serves 2-4 people. (I prefer just one sandwich, but Dave enjoyed two.)