When I grew up in Denmark, being a student, one of my favorite meals was take-out pizzas. Each block seemed to have a pizzeria back then, each making essentially the exact same pizzas. They were delivered in cardboard boxes, and inevitably took on the taste of the box. Thus, they were named among students “cardboard-box pizzas,” for their taste, not for their delivery method. On my last trip home, I got a craving for a cardboard pizza. I’ve had the craving before, got the pizza, and regretted it. I guess my taste buds have evolved. This time, I decided to go for a pizza-sandwich from a local shop on Frederiksberg in Copenhagen; Cavallino.
The benefit of a pizza sandwich is that it’s wrapped in foil, so no cardbox taste this time, just the way I like my food. The owner, Mr. Cavallino was in the store when I walked in, and was very friendly. He let me taste a few things before I decided on the bresaola. Bresaola is air-dried salted beef that has been aged about 2-3 months until it becomes hard and a dark red, almost purple color [Wikipedia]. It was very tasty, and when Mr. Cavallino made the sandwich, he added a bit of garlic sauce on my request (not part of the regular recipe).
The sandwich was enormous, but light. Most of the ingredients were various greens, and he didn’t go totally overboard with mayonnaise like other places. Although 4 tbs sounds like a lot, you should see what they serve down the street. It was slightly crunchy on the outside, and baked in the show. The bresaola was perfect in the sandwich, but the greens were the usual run-of-the-mill stuff. In Denmark, most greens are imported which means most tomatoes for example are harvested while green and matured during transport. They are almost tasteless. Given that, I think Cavallino’s did a decent job.
4 out of 5 stars given the specific food group we’re discussing. In 10 years, when I crave a cardbox-pizza again, I might go back.
Bresaola Sandwich Recipe
- 1 Pizza sandwich bread
- 4 tbs mayonnaise
- 8 slices of bresaola
- 1 gratuitous handful of shredded iceberg
- 1/4 yellow bell pepper
- 5 slices of cucumber
- Pesto sauce
- Garlic sauce
Bake the pizza sandwich bread until it poofs up. Cut it open and spread the mayo on both sides. Layout half the bresaola, and cover with shredded greens. Pour over the pesto and garlic sauce (which are more like oils in this case). Add the last bresaola on top, and close the sandwich. Enjoy while warm.
Peter Bangs Vej 60
2000 Frederiksberg
Tel: 3886 1316
Denmark