I wouldn’t say that the sandwich is a popular item with locals where we live in Brazil, but they are offered at most cafes and juice shops. Since I’m not one to enjoy sitting down to a plate of rice, beans and red meat for lunch on a hot day, I truly appreciate the attempt to offer the sandwich as a culinary choice and I’ve been introduced to a lot of new fillings and combinations.
There is a juice and sandwich shop in town called Jungle Juice. They serve excellent juices, açaí in a bowl and some tasty sandwiches. The first time we stopped by there one sandwich caught my attention and it has been my favorite ever since – The Roma.
I should probably tell you that if the quesadilla from yesterday was a bit out of your comfort zone regarding the use of a mango, this one might be too. The stars of the Roma sandwich are chicken, gorgonzola cheese and mango. I originally tried it because I wanted to be adventurous, and I was not expecting how wonderful this combination turned out to be.
The sandwich is served warm and I must admit that my recreation does need some practice. My version was good, but not exactly like the one at the restaurant. The lessons I learned include: 1) It needs mayonnaise. 2) The mango needs to be very ripe and very sweet.
I’m really not a big fan of mayo. I rarely get it on my sandwiches, however, to this particular sandwich it adds the moisture needed to make it more palatable. When it mixes with the gorgonzola it really takes away the identifiable mayo flavor.
The sweetness of the mango balances the saltiness of the cheese. The combination is excellent; much like what you get from gorgonzola and pears. However, the cheese is strong, so the mango needs to be very ripe and sweet to compete with that flavor.
Interested to try it?
The Roma Sandwich
2 French rolls or pieces of baguette (I used some whole wheat sandwich rolls this time)
1 ½ cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
2 to 3 ounces gorgonzola cheese
1 mango, chopped
Mayo to taste
1 ½ cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
2 to 3 ounces gorgonzola cheese
1 mango, chopped
Mayo to taste
First, toast the bread in the oven until it is nicely browned and set aside. You can do this while you are putting the sandwich fillings together.
In a skillet, heat the chicken. Toss in the mango and heat through. Next crumble the gorgonzola and add it to the skillet. Stir to heat and melt the cheese so that it is incorporated into the chicken and mango. Salt and pepper to taste if desired.
Spread a little bit of mayo on the toasted bread and fill each sandwich roll with ½ of the chicken filling. Serve warm.
Wow, what a sandwich!!
mmm. This sounds DELICIOUS!
I’m not a big mayo fan either. Give me mustard any day. I do like mayo if it’s mixed with something – like mustard or lots of garlic and herbs.
What do you think the main influence on the food in Brazil is? It seems like such a diverse country with so many immigrants from all over the world. My husband said that there are more Japanese in Brazil than anywhere outside of Japan.
Alison – You are definitely right. There are lots of influences here and I haven’t had the chance to experience them all. Your husband is right about Japanese immigrants and from what I’m told where we are living in northern Parana state is where the largest concentration of the immigrants reside. The sushi here is amazing! :)The Japanese influence is really one of my favorite things about where we live.
I still feel like red meat, rice and beans are the staples, but different areas have different influences. It can be more African in parts of the north, European in the south and definitely a lot of seafood on the coast.
I’m not a huge mayo fan either but oddly enough I like Vegannaise quite a bit. ha! i know neither are very healthy but a dollop here and there sometimes helps.
Oh my! So simple, but such an unusual combination of flavors. It looks DELISH!
Wow, these mango combinations are sounding fabulous! I’m definitely going to have to get some mangoes soon!
I wonder how it got its name, wow Brazil always want to go there, nice sandwich
wow – that sounds like a really intriguing sandwich.
the jungle juice cracked me up. that’s what we used to call the frat house punch in college 😉
The Roma looks delicious! I’d be up for trying it. Such creative uses for mango, new ways for me that I would of never thought of on my own.
Wow what a crazy combination but I bet the salty & sweet flavor is great
So glad for the positive responses! I thought this one might sound so good to others, but I was wrong. 🙂 It really is tasty!
Michelle – I’ve never tried Vegannaise. Hmmm…sounds interesting. 🙂
Heather – That is hilarious about the Jungle Juice. It was called Hooch for us. Here, we crack up at the name because it is in English, as are a lot of the signs in the store. That seems to happen randomly in the Brazil. They like to use English names.
oh…my..god…this is incredible. I LOVE all the flavors going on there with the gorgonzola and the mango! I’m not a fan of mayo, but everything sounds so…RIGHT in that sandwich!
I don’t think I’ve ever had mango in a sandwich, but I’m definitely willing to try this, especially combined with the gorgonzola. It would be great to follow this up with an acai smoothie, too! Just curious: even though acai is native to Brazil, is it relatively expensive there? An acai bowl here can easily cost $6. Thanks for sharing this!
burp and slurp – I was really surpised at how good it is. It is something I never would have thought of on my own.
Sapuche – It has been a while since I’ve had one, but the big tigelas that have the fruit and granola on them are about R$10 which would be about U$4-5. Those are big and fancy though, plenty to share. The smaller bowls with just the acai and something like bananas are closer to U$3.
We are pretty far in the south and away from the source in the Amazon. I’m not sure what the price would be north of us.
Yes, yes, yes, I want to try the Roma! The flavor combination sounds incredible. Although I don’t use a lot of mayo, I have found some that I enjoy (not Miracle Whip).
I want to visit Brazil so badly but the funds are still lacking. [Sigh] Some day . . . !
Hmmm, I bet if I liked gorgonzola, this would be good. Doesn’t seem like a weird combination at all – fruit + cheese + chicken would be excellent. I could see a soft cheese like brie being good, sans mayo, but it wouldn’t really be the same kind of sandwich, since you wouldn’t have the intensity of the gorgonzola.