Zoe Lucock

A woman working on a food stall

The Soho Farmhouse member is the co-owner of Cotswolds-based street-food business Trailer Trash, and Bobby’s, a cafe, deli and wine bar, which is housed in a converted train carriage in Stratford-upon-Avon. Here, she shares her recipe for the perfect Reuben sandwich

A sandwich with pickles on top
A woman sitting at a table smiling

‘The Reuben sandwich is tangy, salty, and cheesy, and the perfect partner to bottomless Bloody Marys’

The Reuben

Ingredients
Mayonnaise and ketchup (it’s got to be Heinz)
Pickles
1 shallot or onion
Horseradish sauce
Paprika
Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce
Rye sourdough
Good-quality butter
Salt beef or pastrami
Sauerkraut (I love Barrel & Bone)
Gruyere cheese
Salt and pepper
Greaseproof paper (optional)

Method
1. First, make the relish. Mix one tablespoon of ketchup and one tablespoon of mayonnaise in a bowl. Finely chop one pickle, a small shallot (or roughly a quarter of a white onion) and combine. Mix in one tablespoon of horseradish (or some freshly grated horseradish if you’re using it in your Bloody Mary) and add a pinch of paprika. Then, add a splash each of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, and some salt and pepper. Mix well.

2. Turn on your sandwich press or dry-heat a large, flat-bottomed frying pan on a medium heat.

3. Cut two slices of rye sourdough and butter both sides of each slice. Spread the relish over one side of each slice, then layer on the meat, sauerkraut, cheese, sliced pickles, and sauerkraut.

4. Pop the other slice of sourdough relish side down on top and, if using, place between some greaseproof paper (it’s great if you’re eating your Reuben on the move). Place your sandwich in the press until the cheese is sufficiently stringy. If you’re using a pan, toast both sides of your Reuben for roughly five or six minutes.