Delicious Beef and Cheese Sarnies . . . Not Quite a Philly . . .

I have never been to Philadelphia.  I have never had a Philly Steak Sandwich.  I have seen plenty of photos of them flying around Pinterest and loads of different recipes.  They are basically a hot beef sandwich with onions and peppers and cheese on top.  They look pretty fabulous!



I had wanted to try to make some of them for a long time and yesterday I just happened to have pretty much the right ingredients in the house to make some.  I don't want any purists coming along now and telling me my version is wrong!  I am not representing this as a Philly Steak Sandwich.   Just a mighty tasty Beef and Cheese Sandwich, or Sarnie as they are lovingly referred to in some circles over here in the UK.



I was able to pick up some really nice looking rare roast beef at the deli section of the grocery store the other day at a pretty fair price.  Interestingly enough the rare roast beef cost more than the regular roast beef.  I wonder why that is?  It takes less time to cook, so you would think it would be less.   It's the same beef, pretty much.  One piece just took longer to cook. It doesn't make sense.  Anyways, I digress . . .



So I bought some of the rare roast beef and brought it home and cut it into thin slices cross wise, added it to some thinly sliced sweet onions, and green peppers that I sauteed in a pan until the onions were just beginning to caramelize and the peppers were soft.  I added some garlic.  I don't know if this is what people normally do, but it's what I did.  



I added a soupçon of Worcestershire sauce and dark soy sauce, coz that's  how I roll.  (Like how I mixed a little bit of French in there?  I know!  ☺  Thanks!) I seasoned it with a bit of black pepper and salt, scattered it generously with two kinds of cheese . . .  strong cheddar and red leiceister . . .



And then tucked it in between the buttery toasted crevices of a nice soft bun which I had already slathered with garlic mayonnaise. The rest is history.  The next half hour was filled with satisfied sounds as we both tucked into something which was quite, quite delicious . . .  and to think . .  it was quick, it was easy and it wasn't all that expensive to do.   I will be doing this again.  Maybe the next time the missionaries come for their tea.  I think they might like that.  I know we sure did!

*Beef and Cheese Sarnies*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe

I hesitate to call these cheese steak sandwiches because there isn't any steak in them, just roast beef.  They're similar to what is known as a Philly Steak Sandwich, but they're unique. I just kinda made them up as I went along.  Whatever they are, they are totally delicious, simple to make and make a nice quick supper.

1 TBS olive oil
1/2 pound of thinly sliced rare roast beef, cut into 1/2 inch slices across

1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 large green pepper, trimmed, de-seeded and thinly sliced

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

salt and black pepper to taste

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBS dark soy sauce

a couple of handfuls of grated cheese (I used strong Cheddar and red Leicester)

garlic mayonnaise

4 toasted medium hoagie type of  buns

Heat the oil in a large skillet.   Add the onions and green peppers.  Cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently to soften.  Add the garlic.  Cook, stirring until it becomes quite fragrant.  Tip in the roast beef and continue to cook, stirring to combine well and heat the beef through.  Add the Worcestershire and Soy sauces.  Season to taste with some salt and pepper.  Throw the cheese over top and cover.   Take off the heat and let stand while you toast your buns.

Split and toast the buns as desired.  I like to butter mine, but not everyone will want to do that. I toast only the insides under the grill so that the outsides remain nice and soft.   Once the buns are toasted, place one on each of four plates.  Spread the bottom halves with some garlic mayonnaise.  Top each with one fourth of the beef and cheese mixture, and the top toasted bun.  Serve immediately.