My favorite pastrami and gruyere cheese sandwich gets the VIP treatment with homemade purple mustard (amazing!) and a simple everyday rye bread you will love!
This pastrami gruyere sandwich took me back ages, back to the years I lived in California, when I discovered wheat thins and graham crackers. I also ate pastrami for the first time.
A warm sandwich made with homemade pastrami, slices of melted gruyere cheese and served on rye. So wonderful I remember it decades later.
What is pastrami?
It is a product made with meat, usually beef brisket, that is brined for several days and then slowly cooked (or braised really) to achieve a super tender, pull-apart style piece of meat.
It can be eaten warm or cold and is mainly used in sandwiches, one of the most famous being the Reuben.
I like it with mustard and gruyere cheese on rye. So, to spice things up a bit, I made purple mustard, a type that became very popular.
About Rye bread.
Rye flour is a huge favorite used in traditional Eastern European bread. It has a tangy flavor, especially if made with sourdough. They usually include caraway, kummel, and/or cumin seeds.
For today’s sandwich, I wanted a simple bread, a straight dough bread that could be made in a day.
But somehow they come together so well in this sandwich. I had been wanting to make a go-to rye bread for a long time now.
This is good, with caraway and cumin seeds and is a straight dough method, so you don’t need ferments or overnight stays in the fridge. Just a regular loaf of bread with the slight tang of rye which is enhanced by buttermilk. And the seeds that impart that peculiar german quality to it.
What is purple or red wine mustard?
This is just a type of mustard that appeared years ago. I don’t know how it started, but there are many recipes online by now.
This red wine mustard is quite interesting.
First of all, it’s the perfect way to use some leftover red wine. I usually use it to make one of my favorite cakes with it, like this red wine velvet cake, but this is another great alternative. And it keeps in the fridge for a long time.
Use it on cold roast beef, ham or whatever you like to put regular mustard on. You can make it smooth or chunky too.
Other recipes you might like:
Semolina Bread
Tomato Ricotta Bacon Bruschetta
Roasted Tomato Bread
Beer Bread Rolls
Whole Wheat Mountain Bread
Mozzarella Pesto Naan Bread
Easter Braid
Chorizo Sandwich with Chimichurri
Let me know if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it.
Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
My favorite pastrami and gruyere cheese sandwich gets the VIP treatment with homemade purple mustard (amazing!) and a simple everyday rye bread you will love!
Ingredients
For each sandwich:
- 2 slices rye bread (recipe below)
- 5 oz. (150g) pastrami
- 3.5 oz (100g) gruyere cheese, thinly sliced
- 1 or 2 Tbs red wine mustard (recipe below)
For the rye bread:
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 Tbs dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 Tbs wheat germ
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds (crushed or coarsely ground)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (crushed or coarsely ground)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (at room tº)
- 2 Tbs malt syrup (or molasses)
- 1 Tbs honey
- 2 Tbs canola oil
- 1 cup bread or all purpose flour (approximately)
For the red wine mustard:
- 1 ½ cups red wine
- 1 shallot
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- ½ green apple
- 3.5 oz (100g) dijon mustard
- Salt
- 1 or 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
Instructions
For sandwich:
- Lightly toast bread in an electric oven or regular oven.
- Spread one side with red wine mustard. Top with cheese and return for a few minutes to the oven until the cheese begins to melt.
- Arrange pastrami slices on top of the other bread slice.
- Top with the cheese slice. Eat.
For the bread:
- Grease one 9×5 inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl mix yeast and water and let foam for a few minutes.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, put rye and whole wheat flours, wheat germ, buttermilk, honey, malt, oil and yeast. Mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes to come together.
- Attach the dough hook and start mixing on medium low speed until a shaggy dough is formed.
- Add seeds and the bread flour, a few tablespoons at a time. Beat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough is elastic but not too stiff. If it’s too sticky add a few more tablespoons of bread flour, but don´t overdo it. It needs to retain some stickiness.
- Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. It can take more time depending on the tº of your kitchen.
- On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough down, and then roll it tightly, pinching edges to seal.
- Place in the prepared pan, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- About 20 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375ºF / 190ºC.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
- Let cool compeltely on wire rack before cutting.
For red wine mustard:
- Chop shallot and peel, core and chop apple. In a medium saucepan, mix red wine, peppercorns, shallot and apple. Let boil until the wine is almost completely reduced.
- Process together with the mustard or use an immersion blender. Or leave it very chunky.
- Add balsamic vinegar and salt to taste.
- Keep refrigerated.
Keywords: pastrami sandwich, purple mustard, rye bread
Bread adapted from Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads; mustard recipe from Roberto Petersen
I can only imagine that this was the best sandwich ever! I love Palo Alto – there is a wonderful chocolatier there! It is one of my favorite places that my work takes me!
Paula, you made mustard too…only this time it has red wine…and you baked your own bread…quite an "ambitious" sandwich I must say. Gruyère is wonderful, of course, but we do not really get pastrami around here at all. What a Monday treat!
Love homemade bread! That sandwich looks incredible. The back story behind it is great too!
I'm salivating over your sandwich! Yum!
I’m sitting here looking at that sandwich and wishing I could reach through the computer! Not only do I love your beautiful bread, but RED WINE MUSTARD sounds amazing!! I will be making that!
First of all – YES! That is a fantastic book…I have it and dream of baking so many of the breads inside. This sandwich looks insanely delicious with that melty gruyere and the mustard…oh yes, my mouth is watering!
I am afraid I'm not a rye bread person but that mustard sounds intriguing. May have to add it to my mustard collection!
your homemade rye looks delicious, paula. i can imagien it with a good wedge of cold creamy butter.
and i shall pass your red wine mustard recipe on to my mother – she is the condiment maker in our family!
My goodness, Paula!!! You made your own bread, AND your own mustard!!! You. Are. Amazing!!! Rye, with seeds, is one of my favorite breads that carries such wonderful memories from childhood, weird, with my Italian heritage…so I really love rye! Great post!
I rarely have pastrami, either, but I love it! This looks like a healthier option to a corn beef sandwich…at least in my book! YUM!
This is just weird – I told Keith yesterday that I was craving a Reuben. Guess how many Reubens I've had, ever. Zero. Just the flavor combination sounds so good. This seems Reubenesque, but better. It's a sign! 🙂 Definitely trying this sandwich…
I will have to try your red wine mustard. It sounds fabulous.
Oh yes please!!!
Mary x
OMY I love pastrami and this look awesome!!
awesome, youve made it from scratch
Wow that red wine mustard sounds fantastic! What a sandwich 🙂
My husband would adore the red wine mustard with pastrami! He worked in Palo Alto for six years, commuting four days a week from Salinas where we live. I'm happy to say those days are over. But that trip pales in comparison from your journey!
Paula,
I love everything about this sandwich! And you made this rye bread yum! I will have to try this red wine mustard. . it sounds so intriguing! Although, we never seem to have leftover wine. 😛
And re: planes, I am the opposite. I have to eat and watch a movie or something but I know what you mean. It can get messy and then you have to get up and squeeze into the tiny lavatory!
Best pastrami sandwich I've ever seen. Hands down.