Easy Spanish Sandwich Recipe [El Serranito]

There are times when we don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen, and we just want to enjoy a filling, delicious lunch or dinner that doesn’t take hours to prepare.

If you were looking for that, you came to the right place. In this article, we will tell you all about a popular Spanish sandwich recipe, so you can make the bocadillo known as serranito in your home.

Continue scrolling down to learn more about one of the most famous sandwiches, how to make it step by step, the changes you can make to the ingredients, and the way you can serve them.

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Background of the Dish

Few recipes serve as much to represent the region as this Spanish sandwich, known as serranito. 

It had its origins in some stalls of verbenas (Andalusian festivals) and quickly became a fan favorite.

In its beginnings, it was only found in Seville, and it is considered one of the best Spanish tapas ideas in that city. In any case, over time it has become a symbol of the entire south of Spain.

Part of their success is because they are delicious, but also because they are fully customizable. 

You can add any ingredients you like, or remove the ones you don’t want, and even then it will still be a fantastic sandwich.

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Things You’ll Need for Spanish Sandwich Recipe

This is one of the best Spanish recipes, because, like all sandwiches, you can play with the ingredients you use.

Of course, to be an authentic serranito you need the key ingredients, but if you don’t have any you can adapt it without problems.

Ingredients

• 4 baguettes (small or medium size, 1 per sandwich)
• 4 slices beef tenderloin
• 12 slices of cheese
• 12 slices of serrano ham
• 1 clove garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil (for drizzle)

How to Make Spanish Sandwich Recipe – Step by Step Guide

1. To start making this serranito you have to cook the steak loin slices in a skillet. If they are very thin, they will take less than 10 minutes to cook thoroughly. To cook them, put a little olive oil in the pan, and season with salt and pepper.

2. In the meantime, take the baguettes and cut them in half with a bread knife. Using another knife is fine, but there will be loose crumbs everywhere.

3. After that, cut the tip of the garlic clove and pass it through the inside of the halves of the pieces of bread so that they are filled with flavor. You can skip this step if you don’t like garlic.

4. Then take the extra virgin olive oil and drizzle on top of the inside of each bread half. You can also skip this step and spread it with mayonnaise, aioli, or cream cheese.

5. Once the beef tenderloins are ready, put 1 in each piece of bread. Also, add 4 slices of serrano ham and 4 slices of cheese on 1 of the halves of each bread, then put their respective half on top.

6. The Bocadillo Recipe is now ready. You can serve them like this, or toast them in the oven for 5 minutes. 

Substitution of Ingredients

Just like any of the other baguette sandwich recipes you can find on the internet, you can make hundreds of changes to these Spanish tapas.

For example, you can change the bread. White bread works too, or some sourdough. 

Even if you find it in your city you can use the typical bread that is an Andalusian Vienna or a piece of bread from Écija.

You can use the Spanish bread recipe and make yourself some fresh bread or Pitufo because it’s worth it. 

For this Bocadillos, we made the twist of using beef tenderloin, but you can use pork tenderloin or chicken breast. However, don’t forget that those take longer to cook. 

Tortilla de patatas is also a great filling for the Spanish sandwich recipe and you can try this version as well.

You can even use some leftovers from the Spanish grilled chicken or the Spanish garlic chicken. You can play around with your favorite fillings.

Tips on Serving Spanish Sandwich Recipe

There isn’t just one way to eat tapas, for the same reason you can serve them however you want. 

Of course, they are the favorite Spanish starters, but they are quite filling so you can eat them as a main dish.

These traditional Spanish tapas are perfect to prepare at home and then take to work or for the children to take to school. You can heat them in the microwave or eat them cold.

You can even make a kind of Andalucian fest and serve it with other dishes from the region. 

In that case, cut the sandwiches smaller so that everyone can eat them, and try other Spanish tapas recipes, such as fried boquerones, Spanish meatballs or cazon en adobo.

How to Store Spanish Sandwich Recipe

While it is true that this Spanish sandwich is one of the best tapas because of how delicious they are, it is also true that it is more difficult to store them.

If you make this Spanish sandwich recipe and want to save it, you cannot save the bread. 

Cook the beef tenderloin, but do not assemble the entire sandwich. Leave that step for the moment you are going to eat it.

If you keep the bread then it will get all soggy and moist. You can store beef tenderloin for up to 3 days in the fridge.

We do not recommend freezing it since being so thin it will get very hard when you thaw it.

Recipe Card: Spanish Sandwich Recipe

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