My cheese sandwich is better than yours
I am exceptionally Arab about my food. Or maybe I should say exceptionally Levantine: I love my white cheese. I love my olive oil. I love my tomatoes, my olives, my thyme, and my bread.
They are at the very base of my life, my childhood, my experiences.
My current favorite sandwich is a Moose invention.
The secret of this sandwich is the bread. You must get a thyme-sprinkled loaf, preferably from Abella, who have the best bakery in Amman.
Step one: bread and tomatoes
Whether you use cherry tomatoes or regular ones is up to you. I feel like cherry tomatoes give a nice tangy flavor to food. Like I mentioned, the real secret is in the bread.
Step two: the cheese
The cheese should most definitely be white, aside from the fact that yellow cheese is disgusting.
We get some cheap Shami-brand “sweet poiled cheese”, and it’s actually absolutely delicious. Make sure the chunks are large though as this cheese tends to be over sweetened and thus slightly flavorless.
Step three: heaven is in the olive oil
Where does one start with describing the amazingness of olive oil? How can such a simple liquid be so rich and aromatic?
I love olive oil. My favorite food as a child was khobzeh bzeit, which translates to bread in olive oil. To this day, my de facto snack is a slice of freshly baked bread dipped in oil and sprinkled with salt.
Step four: some layering
I usually add nothing more than sliced black olives. Other times, I add an extra dash of thyme.
Step five: scorch a little .
Do not eat this sandwich without toasting it first. I prefer mine slightly scorched, it adds a nice woody scent.
Enjoy! :)
