Feta and mint Persian sandwiches

February 14, 2009 at 6:59 am (My brain, Persian, Quick weeknight recipe, restaurant inspired, unrated)

There’s a tiny little tea and coffee shop in Saarbruecken that’s owned by a Persian family.  Everyday they offer a traditional Persian lunch, but the hot special is rarely vegetarian.  I do like their sandwiches, however.  The first one I tried was the feta and mint sandwich: half of a baguette spread with creamy feta, lots of fresh mint, and cucumber slices.  It was delicious–much better than the typical German cheese sandwiches.  I liked the sandwich so much I decided to make it at home.  However, I used up all my cucumbers making sesame noodles.  To replace the cucumbers, I added diced kalamata olives and thin slices of a fresh red chili from the Turkish market.  I don’t know what kind of chili it is, but it’s bright tasting and hot but not too hot.  My version of the feta and mint sandwich was delicious, even without the cucumber.  Derek was skeptical at first, but after eating his sandwich he asked for another!  I was out of the red chili, so I spread the bread with a little harissa, which was also tasty, but slightly bitter.