Seriously. Sorry about the title, I don't have an official name for this sauce. You might wonder how these four items:
Could, would or ever should be joined in one recipe. (Those are limes, not peas!) Hold on to your hats, I'm about to describe an absolutely AMAZING sauce that you can use to make sandwiches, wraps or little finger sandwiches, perfect for any holiday gathering or Sunday afternoon football snacking!
I know, it sounds a bit odd to combine lime and green onions and then put it on roast beef. I never believed it myself until I tried it. I snagged this recipe from a product sampler at a local Meijer store many years ago. I think I also gained a lifetime supply of sample packets of this:
Trust me, it's one of the bestest black peppers around! So, let's get down to the nitties and gritties, shall we?
The Sauce.
Ingredients:
1 cup mayo (fat free would probably be the best alternative but live on the edge and use full-strength for the best flavor)
4-5 tablespoons lime juice (1/2 a lime, juiced or lime juice from a bottle, you pick)
1 large or 2 med bunches green onions, washed and sliced thin, using all but the tattered ends and roots)
What You Do:
Add all the aforementioned ingredients to a bowl
Stir
Chill (for at least an hour, but overnight is an exquisite amount of time to let it all comingle!)
Where You Put It:
Deli roast beef, sliced thin or even chipped, if you want to frustrate your local deli clerk! Go for the best brands....trust me, cheap roast beef is full of water and just kind of gross.
Italian Bread, sliced thin.
Wraps (like Flat Outs, or even tortillas)
Putting It Together:
If you're making finger sandwiches, I highly recommend having the Italian bread sliced in store, so you don't have to mess with it. Most commercial bakery slicers run thin, so it makes the perfect size for this recipe. Since Italian loaves tend to be a bit short, I'd recommend making two tea sandwiches per two slices of bread.
Cut two slices of bread in half before assembling.
Slather on a layer of the onion sauce, covering the surface of the bread bits for best flavor.
Hold a piece of roast beef up from one end, so it's dangling in the air, touch it to the bread and let it kind of cascade into a lovely, frilly little pile o' beef. Or, just smack it on there.
Top it off with the another 1/2 piece of bread. VOILA.
You can use decorative toothpicks to hold them together or just let them hang out.
If you're not going to eat them right away, cover the platter with plastic wrap and keep them chilled to prevent them from getting icky and stale!
Onion pinwheels:
Flatouts offer more bread-like chew than a tortilla, but the choice is yours. I wouldn't recommend flavored tortillas because it will definitely distract from the amazing flavor of the sauce. However, if you're adventurous, go for it!
Spread a healthy amount of sauce over the entire surface of the wrap
Cover the surface of the wrap with slices of roast beef
Sprinkle a little kosher salt over the beef (a very little)
Roll it up and then slice into 1-inch pieces.
Eat those awkwardly shaped end pieces now.
You can hold these together with decorative picks or just tuck them neatly together on a platter.
Same as before, wrap and chill if not eating immediately.
This IS a COLD recipe. I do NOT recommend heating the sauce at all, since it's mayo and it will just become oily and disappear. I've tried it at room temperature, but I really do prefer cold.
I must apologize as I do not know for certain the serving amounts for the above recipe. For guesstimation purposes, I would have to say that you can cover at least four Flatout wraps, six large tortillas or 16 tea sandwiches. That is a total GUESS however. Just depends on how much sauce you want to add. It's easily doubled or tripled and it stores well in the fridge for at least 3 days.
And a final note: I have never tried this with anything but roast beef. I don't know how it will pair with poultry or even seafood, but it might be kind of funky with some flaked crabmeat! Please share if you try it with other meats. Let me know how it goes!