Roast Beef Sandwich with Asparagus and Wild Garlic Pesto (Spargelzeit Sandwich)
This is the kind of sandwich that feels like spring in Germany: tender white and green asparagus (Spargel), thin slices of roast beef, and a fragrant wild garlic pesto (Bärlauchpesto) layered onto toasted rye bread. Cream cheese adds a gentle, creamy richness, tomatoes and sprouts bring freshness, and a skewer of olives makes it feel café-worthy — simple, elegant, and incredibly satisfying.
It’s also a perfect “Spargelzeit” idea for picnics, lunch, or a light spring dinner — especially when asparagus is at its best.
Roast Beef Sandwich with Asparagus and Wild Garlic Pesto
A sophisticated German spring roast beef sandwich layered with green and white asparagus, tomatoes, cream cheese, and wild garlic pesto on toasted rye bread.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp alfalfa sprouts
- 4 tbsp cream cheese
- 6 spears green asparagus
- 6 spears white asparagus
- 4 slices bread rye or your favorite
- 8 pimento-stuffed olives
- 2 wooden sandwich picks
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 tomato
- 4 tbsp cold-pressed canola oil Rapsöl
- wild garlic pesto see recipe
- 3 oz roast beef
- sugar
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Wash the asparagus and peel the white variety from just below the head downwards, peel only the bottom third of the green spears. Add sugar, salt and a few drops of canola oil to a pot of boiling water and cook the asparagus to desired texture (10 minutes recommended), then drain the spears and let them cool down.
- Remove skin and seeds of the tomatoes and cut them into wedges. Peel the onion and cut it into thin rings. Toast bread on one side. Thread 4 olives on each of the wooden skewers.
- Spread the wild garlic pesto onto the untoasted side of the bread, place it on a plate. Arrange 3 of white and 3 green asparagus spears on each bottom slice of bread, spread the cream cheese on top, followed by some more pesto, then add the roast beef , more pesto, the tomato wedges and alfalfa sprouts. Spread pesto on the second slice of bread and place on top of the sandwich. Garnish with some sprout and the onion rings and secure each sandwich with the skewers.
Notes
Tips for best results
- Don’t skip the sugar in the asparagus water: it rounds out the flavor and helps tame bitterness (classic Spargel technique).
- Cool the asparagus before building so the cream cheese stays creamy (not melty).
- Make it cleaner to eat: cut diagonally and keep the skewers in — the sandwich holds together beautifully.
Variations
- Bread options: rye is great, but a hearty sourdough or farmhouse loaf works too.
- Make it more “German deli”: add a thin layer of mustard under the roast beef.
- Vegetarian option: swap roast beef for sliced boiled egg or smoked tofu and keep everything else the same.
