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Fig Sandwiches in Rolls
Split twelve figs, scrape out the soft portion, and rub this to a paste. Butter thin slices of either white or brown bread, remove the crusts, spread with the fig paste and roll the bread carefully.
ALMOND SANDWICHES, No. 1-Almond sandwiches of all varieties are delicious for the tea-table. Cut the bread in thin slices, spread with butter and put on a layer of finely chopped almonds, to which has been added a light sprinkling of salt and a dash of lemon juice; lay over another slice of buttered bread, cut into small ovals and press a blanched nut in the center.
Two tea-table sandwiches printed as one entry: rolled fig pinwheels and layered almond ovals. Both depend more on the bread than on the filling.
- The hinge: bread that will bendRolled sandwiches only work with a very fresh, fine-crumbed white or wheat sandwich loaf sliced thin — about 1/4 inch, or the thinnest setting at a bakery counter. Day-old bread cracks along the fold. Flattening each slice lightly with a rolling pin before spreading makes it far more cooperative.
- Which figsThe recipe says only 'twelve figs' and does not specify fresh or dried. Splitting and scraping out the soft portion works either way; if using dried figs, choose plump soft ones rather than hard leathery ones, and if yours are dry, steep them in hot water or a little orange juice for 20 minutes, drain well, then scrape and mash. The paste should be thick; a wet filling soaks through thin bread.
- Setting the rollsRoll each slice snugly, lay the rolls seam-side down close together in a dish, cover with a damp towel and refrigerate at least an hour. They hold their shape after chilling and can be sliced crosswise into pinwheels if you prefer.
- Blanching almondsThe whole nut pressed into the center is meant to be blanched — pour boiling water over shelled almonds, stand 60 seconds, drain, and the skins slip off between finger and thumb. Slivered almonds are usually sold already blanched and can be chopped fine for the filling; sliced almonds are often skin-on, so check the packet.
- Salt and lemon are not optionalChopped almonds alone taste of very little. The salt and the dash of lemon juice are what make the filling read as savory rather than dusty; add both to the chopped nuts and toss before spreading.
- Butter to the edgesIn both sandwiches the butter is a moisture barrier as much as a flavoring. Use it softened, spread thin and right to the crust line, and make the sandwiches within a few hours of serving.
- YieldTwelve figs will fill roughly a dozen rolls. The recipe gives no quantity for the almonds, so the number of ovals depends entirely on how much you chop.
Rolled and cut-out sandwiches like these belong to the Anglo-American afternoon tea of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the sandwich had become a small, ornamental thing served on a doily, its origins often traced to an eighteenth-century gaming table. The Butterick company, a pattern and fashion publisher, issued its cook book to the same readers who bought its dress patterns, and the fussy shapes here — a nut set dead center — reflect a period taste for food that looked composed. Figs and almonds were both practical pantry choices: dried Smyrna figs and shelled almonds shipped and kept well.