Smoked Bacon and Watercress Pesto Sandwich
Jazz up lunch and picnics with this grilled smokey bacon and spring watercress pesto sandwich (partnered post).
You ever get tired of the same old, same old lunch? If you are anything like me then that is a big fat yes.
I tend to travel away from home quite regularly. And when I do, I rely on easy things like soups and salads for lunch. Don’t get me wrong I do get the good stuff, but even the really, really, really good stuff gets samey after a while. Spicy butternut squash soup, I am looking at you.
So I have been thinking of how to jazz up my lunch box in a tasty, easy and and eaten on the go way. Enter my grilled smokey bacon and spring watercress pesto sandwich, chock-a-block full of vegetables and spring watercress. It is the sort of sandwich that travels well and tastes good eaten cold. Not only that, but it can be eaten as a salad subbing in couscous, quinoa or more vegetables instead of the bread.
I kept the pesto garlic free in view of the fact this this is a lunch on the go or picnic type recipe. But feel free to add in a clove or two if you prefer.
And I cannot help but impress upon you how much of a difference good quality tasty bacon makes to this bacon and watercress pesto sandwich. Personally the kiddoes and I have been digging the delicious British spoiltpig bacon made from freedom farmed ‘spoilt’ pigs. Although I prefer to make this with their smoked streaky bacon, the smoked back bacon works too. Try it both ways and see what you prefer.
Fancy trying some spoiltpig bacon youself? Well I am pleased to tell you that you can win yourself a hamper which includes the South West’s best tasting and award winning produce. There’s thirst quenching apple juice courtesy of Four Elms Fruit Farm, Natural Vitality’s delicious organic smoked hummous and a delightful coconut & lime cake from Farleigh Road Farm Shop and, of course, spoiltpig’s deliciously tasting bacon and gammon.
Between 16th – 22nd May, either tell spoiltpig what your favourite picnic moment is / was / might be, or send them a picture and, with my help, they will pick 7 lucky winners. You can submit your comment at www.spoiltpig.co.uk, or their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, but only one entry per person please! Remember to include #spoiltpig with your entry. Then relax, sit back (with a bacon sarnie : )) and keep your eyes peeled. They will be announcing the winners on Wednesday 25th May and send out hampers on Thursday 26th May so that the lucky winners have them in time for the long weekend.
This post is in collaboration with spoiltpig. Thank you for supporting the brands that make it possible for me to continue cooking up great recipes for you. All opinions are my own.
Don't forget to tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter if you try Bacon and Watercress Pesto Sandwich! It is really, really awesome for me when you make one of my recipes and I'd love to see it. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thank you for reading Recipes from a Pantry.
Bacon and Watercress Pesto Sandwich
Ingredients
For the watercress pesto:
- 100 g (3.5oz) watercress
- 50 g (1.7oz) Parmesan
- 50 g cashews dry roasted
- Olive oil to taste
- Smoked Salt
- Olive oil to taste
For the sandwich:
- Butter
- 12 slices smoked streaky bacon I used spoiltpig’s
- 4 sandwich rolls
- A handful of grilled peppers
- A hand full of sundried tomatoes sliced
- A handful of radishes sliced
- A handful of rocket arugula
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 tsp butter in a pan and fry the bacon until done, turning half way through. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.
- To make the pesto put the watercress, parmesan, cashew nuts and salt into a food processor and whiz into a paste. Transfer to a container and mix as much olive oil as you want.
- Assemble your sandwiches starting with the sandwich base, then pesto, bacon, peppers, sundried tomatoes, radishes, rocket and and sandwich top.