the classic recipe
Brazilian chicken salad sandwich (sanduíche natural)
Brazil's sanduíche natural is the utility snack of bakeries and office refrigerators. Soft sandwich bread — white or whole wheat — packed with a creamy filling of shredded chicken mixed with grated carrot, tomato, mayonnaise and cream cheese, sealed shut with a whole lettuce leaf. Cut diagonally, wrapped in plastic film, eaten cold. It is the afternoon snack, the road-trip snack, the exam-day snack. Lighter in feel than coxinha or pastel, yet calorie-dense from its mayo-and-cream-cheese filling.
yields 8 servings·341 kcal per serving·cuisine Brazilian
The traditional recipe
Instructions
Cook the chicken breast in salted water over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain, let cool completely, then shred with two forks into thin strands.
In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, finely grated carrot, halved cherry tomatoes, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and chopped parsley and chives. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Stir well with a spatula until you have a uniform, dense cream that coats all the ingredients. The filling should be thick and rich, not runny.
Lay the sandwich bread slices in pairs on the work surface. Spread the filling generously over one slice of each pair, going all the way to the edges.
Place a washed and dried lettuce leaf on top of the filling — it should cover the entire surface and extend slightly over the sides.
Close with the remaining bread slice and press gently so the sandwich holds together without squeezing out the filling.
Cut each sandwich diagonally to form two triangles.
Wrap each sandwich tightly in plastic film and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving. Consume within 24 hours.
Yields 8 sandwiches (using the 16 slices from one 500 g loaf).