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The refined tramezzino of Venice, where sweet Adriatic shrimp meet sliced egg and arugula between slices of impossibly soft bread. This is what Venetians eat standing at the bar before dinner.
The tramezzino is not a sandwich. It is an institution. In Venice, you stand at the bar of a bacaro in late afternoon, order a spritz, and point to the glass case where these soft white triangles wait in orderly rows. The bartender hands you one on a small plate. You eat it in four bites, standing, watching the light change on the canal outside.
Americans make sandwiches sturdy. They pile ingredients high and press everything together. The tramezzino does the opposite. The bread is so soft it nearly dissolves. The fillings are restrained, two or three ingredients at most, bound lightly with mayonnaise. The crust is removed because crust would interfere with the texture. This is not about fuel. This is about pleasure.
Shrimp, egg, and arugula is a classic Venetian combination. The sweetness of the shrimp, the richness of the egg, the pepper bite of the arugula. Nothing more. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in.
The tramezzino was born in Turin in 1925 at Caffè Mulassano, where the owner adapted English tea sandwiches for Italian tastes. The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio supposedly coined the name as an Italian alternative to the foreign word 'sandwich.' Venice adopted the tramezzino with particular enthusiasm, and the city's bacari now offer dozens of varieties, eaten standing with an ombra of wine or a spritz.
Quantity
8 ounces
shell-on
Quantity
2
Quantity
8 slices
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
1 small handful (about 1 ounce)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1
Quantity
to taste
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small shrimpshell-on | 8 ounces |
| large eggs | 2 |
| soft white sandwich bread | 8 slices |
| mayonnaise | 3 tablespoons |
| wild arugula | 1 small handful (about 1 ounce) |
| extra virgin olive oil | 1 tablespoon |
| lemon | 1 |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| white pepper | to taste |
Place the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water by one inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. The moment the water reaches a full boil, cover the pan, remove from heat, and let stand exactly 10 minutes. Transfer immediately to ice water. This produces eggs with fully set yolks that remain creamy, not chalky. Peel when cool enough to handle.
Bring a small pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp in their shells and cook until just pink and curled, 2 to 3 minutes depending on size. Drain immediately and spread on a plate to cool. Do not shock in ice water; this washes away flavor. When cool enough to handle, peel and devein. The shells kept them sweet during cooking.
Place the peeled shrimp in a bowl. Add the olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and white pepper. Toss gently. Taste one. Adjust seasoning. The shrimp should taste bright and clean, not heavily dressed.
Using a sharp knife, remove the crusts from all eight slices of bread. This is not optional. The crust would destroy the soft texture that defines a tramezzino. Lay four slices on your work surface.
Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on all eight bread slices. On the bottom four, arrange the shrimp in an even layer. Slice the eggs into thin rounds and layer them over the shrimp. Season the eggs lightly with salt. Scatter arugula leaves over the eggs, just enough to cover. The arugula provides pepper and color; do not bury everything beneath a mountain of greens. Place the top slices of bread, mayonnaise side down, and press gently.
Cut each sandwich diagonally to form two triangles. This is the traditional shape. Arrange on a plate and serve immediately. A tramezzino waits for no one. If you must hold them briefly, cover with a barely damp towel to prevent the bread from drying.
1 serving (about 140g)
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