Meatless Sandwich Can Be Incredibly Good

You don’t need a recipe to tell you how to drizzle a little olive oil on a slab of French bread, cover it with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, broccoli, walnuts and black pepper and heat it up.

But if this weren’t in print, you’d probably never be tempted to try such a combination. After all, how good could a five - OK, six ingredient sandwich, without meat, mayonnaise or mustard, taste?

Incredibly good.

Gorgonzola cheese (or a substitute such as Roquefort or a good-quality domestic blue) has a salty, sharp taste that is delightful on a piece of French bread. Walnuts have a complementary buttery, sweet flavor, and broccoli is neutral to sweet. Put them together and it’s a perfect match.

Just because this sandwich is so easy to do, you may not appreciate it. Clip this recipe and put it aside. When you’re alone and want to treat yourself to a fine-tasting dinner, this is the recipe to make. Pour a glass of chardonnay or pinot noir and savor the sandwich.

To round out the meal, broil sliced banana and mango in a little brown sugar, rum and butter for a delicious dessert. If you have someone else you’d like to pamper, just increase the ingredients.

Broccoli Sandwich

1 (4-inch-long) piece of French bread, cut almost in half

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 rounded tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese

4 to 5 tablespoons chopped, cooked and well-drained broccoli florets

1 heaping tablespoon coarsely chopped walnuts

Freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle bottom half of bread with olive oil. Mash cheese and spread over bottom. Add broccoli and walnuts. Sprinkle generously with pepper. Press sandwich down so filling stays in place. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Yield: 1 hearty serving, or 2 light ones.

Broiled Mango and Banana

1 small banana, peeled and sliced (2/3 cup)

1 small, ripe mango, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks (3/4 to 1 cup)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon dark rum

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into slivers

Place banana and mango in 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle with brown sugar and rum and dot with butter. Toss gently but well.

Place in preheated broiler 5 to 6 inches from heat and broil until ingredients are hot and sugar forms a syrup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Yield: 1 generous serving or 2 average servings.

MEMO: Bev Bennett is food editor of the Chicago Sun-Times and author of four cookbooks.