BLT Bocadillo

Way back in 2012, I went to Spain for the first time.  But rather than spend it in museums or on the beach, I took a different kind of beaten path: the Camino De Santiago across northern Spain.

The 3rd most popular pilgrimage in the world (behind Rime and Jerusalem), the Camino attracts people from all over the world looking to experience both an extended period of personal and spiritual growth as well as a cultural immersion into an array of small towns across the Spanish countryside that couldn’t be fully understood in any other way.

Walking over 200 miles in 11 days necessarily entailed eating a whole lot of food to sustain it.  While our dinners were usually leisurely 3 course meals that allowed us to unwind over the course of several hours of lively conversation, lunches were almost always bocadillos.  Common throughout Spain, these baguette sandwiches most commonly containing Serrano ham, Spanish chorizo, Spanish omelette, or some other meat/cheese/vegetable combination are especially prevelant on the Camino since they offer a cheap and filling option for pilgrims on the go.  Their heartiness cannot be overstated - I once got one so big it made a subway footlong look like a slider; needless to say, we were rarely hungry following lunchtime.

I wanted to bring the style of a bocadillo to a more American context, so I’m taking the same type of sandwich and filling it with an ingredient Americans know well: bacon.  A BLT is the perfect American sandwich to make in this style because many bocadillos already prominently feature tomatoes in the form of fresh tomato pulp smashed into the toasted bread.  I subbed in arugula instead of the lettuce to complement the bacon and give a little more peppery flavor, and instead of mayo, added some far superior garlic and olive oil.  The result is an umistakeably Spanish dish tbats fully accessible to an American palette and could serve as the perfect segue into discovering the foods of the Camino.

BLT Bocadillo

1 10-12in piece of baguette
3 slices thick cut bacon
1/2 cup baby arugula
1 very ripe tomato
1 clove garlic
2 tsp olive oil

Toast the baguette in a conventional or toaster oven until crust is slightly crisp and inside is warm.

Add bacon to a hot skillet and cook for 3-5 min per side, until fat is rendered out and meat begins to caramelize. Remove from pan and rest on paper towel to drain excess fat.

Peel garlic clove and slice tomato in half.  Slice baguette open (leaving one side attached), and rub raw garlic onto inside to impart garlicky flavor.  Rub tomato on both sides of baguette, squeezing to allow pulp to spread over bread.  Drizzle bread with olive oil and top with arugula and bacon. Serve immediately (or eat on the road!).