Catalan black and white sandwich, with white and black sausage and onion
Para 2 3.5 €/pers. 250 kcal/100g.
- 2 sandwich rolls, about 100-110 g each
- 160 g of cooked white sausage
- 160 g of cooked black sausage
- 1 large onion, about 250g
- 20 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- Shall
- Peel the onion, cut it in half and then into thin julienne strips, making sure that the strips are of a similar thickness so that they cook at the same time.
- Heat 15 ml of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, stir for 3-4 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for another 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender, reduced in volume, and lightly golden. We're not aiming for a dark jam, so we don't need to add sugar. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- While the onion finishes cooking, slice the white and black sausages into 1-1.5 centimeter rounds. If they are horseshoe-shaped, remove the string from the ends first. Handle the black sausage with a little more care as it tends to be more fragile.
- Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining 5 ml of oil if it's dry. First, brown the slices of white sausage for 1-2 minutes on each side. Then do the same with the black sausage, over medium heat and without overcooking it: it's enough for it to heat through and take on some color at the edges. Remove both.
- We slice the rolls lengthwise without separating them completely. We place the cut side down on the pan or griddle for 30-60 seconds, until lightly toasted. We don't want a hard crust; just a slightly firmer surface to hold the filling.
- We spread the hot onion over the base of the two loaves of bread. On top, we place the slices of white and black sausage, alternating them irregularly so that both appear in each bite. We don't press or mash the filling: the individual pieces should still be recognizable.
- We close the sandwiches and return them to the griddle over medium-low heat for 30-45 seconds per side, pressing very gently. The bread should be warm and slightly crispy, while the inside remains juicy. Serve immediately.
The name can be misleading because the most well-known blanc i negre sandwich outside of Catalonia usually includes longaniza sausage and morcilla blood sausage, as is the case with the Valencian lunch. In Barcelona, however, we find another very specific combination: the Catalan blanc i negre sandwich is prepared with white botifarra sausage, black botifarra sausage, and onion, a recipe documented among the sandwiches at Dole Café in Sarrià. For this recipe, we will follow precisely that Catalan version, without mixing it with the Valencian one.
The choice of sausage significantly alters the recipe. Both white and black botifarra are part of the Catalan repertoire of cooked sausages. For this preparation, we choose cooked pieces suitable for slicing and heating, and briefly pan-fry them: the goal is to warm them through and give them a little browning, not to treat them like fresh sausages and fry them until dry.
The third element requires more work than the other two: a slowly cooked onion, tender, mellow, and lightly browned. We won't be adding sugar. With medium-low heat and a little patience, it develops enough sweetness while retaining a touch of saltiness that pairs perfectly with two rather flavorful cured meats. The bread also plays a crucial role: it must withstand the grease and moisture without becoming soggy.
If you'd like to continue exploring Catalan cuisine, butifarra con mongetes (butifarra with beans) takes this sausage to a completely different dish, while pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato) demonstrates just how far good bread can go with very little accompaniment. And to maintain the contrast between dark sausage and sweet onion, the morcilla and caramelized onion empanada is a third, quite distinct option from this sandwich.
