Apple, Chicken, Brie & Fig Jam on Sourdough

Ingredients

• 4 thick slicessourdough bread
• 2 tbspfig jam
• 6 ozcooked chicken, sliced or shredded leftover roast or rotisserie
• 4 ozbrie, sliced rind on
• 1 smalltart apple, thinly sliced honeycrisp or pink lady
• 1 small handfulfresh arugula
• 2 tbspunsalted butter, softened
• to tasteflaky salt and black pepper

Method

1. 01

   Butter the outside of each sourdough slice, edge to edge — this is the crust, and a dry corner ruins the bite.

2. 02

   Spread fig jam across the inside face of all four slices. A thin layer; the jam is meant to season the sandwich, not soak it.

3. 03

   Layer the chicken, then the brie, then the apple onto two slices. The cheese sits between the warm chicken and the cool apple so it melts into both.

4. 04

   Close the sandwiches, butter side out.

5. 05

   Warm a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Lay the sandwiches in and press gently with a spatula or a second pan. Cook slowly until deeply golden and the brie has melted, three to four minutes a side. Low heat is non-negotiable — high heat browns the bread before the cheese has a chance to give in.

6. 06

   Lift the sandwiches off the heat. Open them just enough to tuck the arugula in — at the end, never at the start. Heat wilts arugula into something sad; raw, it stays peppery and sharp against the cheese.

7. 07

   Cut on the bias. Finish with flaky salt and a turn of black pepper.