March 6, 2025

You expected me to write about green potatoes in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. And I almost did. Potatoes most definitely are the archetypical Irish food. Today I honor luscious and creamy Irish white cheddar, made from the milk of grass fed cows.

Everyone knows how to craft a sandwich. Truthfully, I just wanted an excuse to showcase a tasty condiment. Green olive walnut paste livens up just about anything. Sandwiches, pasta, grilled proteins and of course, a warm potato salad. Together with the crunch of greens and red onion, this chunky paste makes Irish white cheddar sing a tune any fiddler worth their salt would love.

Recipe amounts are not specified precisely, since you’ll improvise with your favorite bread and add-ins. Cheese forward sandwiches will use about one pound of sliced cheese for four servings. I recommend you ask the deli server to make “sandwich slices” for best thickness.

Nearly any delicate  greens partner well with cheese. Baby spinach or arugula are perfect, but with all the other ingredients, thick greens iike romaine would make a cumbersome sandwich. The olive paste keeps well in your fridge up to two weeks. If chilled you can add a few drops of olive oil to make it spreadable.

Sandwiches are the perfect partner to soup. There are so many to choose from, like Gingered Carrot, and the tomato soup coming up next on the blog.

Cheddar Olive Sandwiches

recipe by Michele Humlan, The Good Eats Company

enough for four servings 

ingredients 

olive walnut spread

1 cup raw walnuts, chopped fine
1 cup manzanilla pimento stuffed olives, chopped fine
4 tablespoons coarse Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil if spread has been chilled
makes about 1 ¼ cup

sandwiches

1 pound Irish white cheddar, sliced for sandwiches
red onion, thinly sliced
baby greens like spinach or arugula
other add-ins : sweet pepper, thinly sliced , or cucumber, thinly sliced
untoasted sliced bread of your choice ( I like Canyon Bakehouse gluten free)

directions

1. Prepare olive spread up to one week ahead, adding a little olive oil if using chilled;  otherwise have spread at room temperature.
2. Have cheddar softened to room temperature.
3. Divide cheese into four portions.
4. Place about 1 tablespoon olive spread on bottom slice of bread, then add a half portion of cheese.
5. Add as much red onion as you can stand, then some baby greens.
6. Next comes the rest of the cheese portion, then more greens
7. Top with another tablespoon of olive spread, then another slice of bread.
8. Repeat with the other three sandwiches.