This is the best sandwich you'll make this year.
The Bikini de Jamón y Trufa is a gooey and delicious classic Spanish Tapa
Amigos,
Maybe you had a chance to watch my new show—José Andrés & Family in Spain, streaming now on Discovery+? If you did, I hope you saw the episode where Carlota, Inés and I went to eat our way through Barcelona. There, we visited my old friend from culinary school, the handsome devil and Michelin-starred chef Carles Abellan at his restaurant Tapas 24. When we went to his place, I could not help myself; I ordered the entire menu, including one of the most classic sandwiches in Barcelona, the Bikini.
The Bikini is a thin pressed grilled sandwich filled with jamón and cheese and is only called bikini in Catalunya, while the rest of Spain uses “sandwich mixto.” That’s because this queen of the grill is named for the celebrated Barcelona nightclub, La Sala Bikini, where it became famous in the 1950s.
The bikini we had at Carles’ place was made with Jamón Iberico and San Simon cheese, and one very special ingredient—truffle butter. I’m a chef…so I have truffles on hand sometimes to make the butter. But you can also buy truffle butter at many grocery stores.
A few other notes: You can use the more affordable Jamón Serrano in place of Iberico, and if you don’t have San Simon, the semi-soft cow’s milk cheese from Lugo, in the Galicia region, in the northwest of Spain, you can use smoked gouda or mozzarella, whatever flavor you prefer. For the bread, in Spain we use the molletes de pan, but you can use any rustic country bread or even a ciabatta loaf.
I love this sandwich so much. It’s amazing, so gooey with the cheese melting inside and the truffles! You could make this as a light dinner with a glass of cold Cava or cold beer. I have even been known to make this for breakfast. My friends, it’s just good all the time!
Bikini de Jamón y Trufa
Makes 4 sandwiches