I was planning to do a Very Hungry Caterpillar menu next year, but after Eric Carle’s recent passing, I really wanted to do it now. It’s been comforting to spend the past month working on recipes inspired by his most famous character. It’s also given me an opportunity to talk with my 4-year-old about the Carle books we’ve read. I grew up with his books myself, and it fills me with warmth to know I’m passing on his legacy to another generation.
This Very Hungry Caterpillar menu is going to have a children’s party vibe, similar to last month’s Stuart Little menu. I know lots of people like to use Very Hungry Caterpillar as a birthday or baby shower theme, so I’m keeping that in mind as I plan.
Today’s super simple appetizer is just right for any kid who’s ever loved lunchables–we’re making Very Hungry Caterpillar sandwiches! I used spinach tortillas for the bread (don’t worry, you can’t really taste the spinach–at least I can’t). For the filling, I used American cheese and Genoa salami, but you can pick whatever meat/cheese combo your kids enjoy most. It took me less than 5 minutes to cut everything out, and the results were SO. FREAKING. CUTE. 😀
It’s super easy to scale the recipe up or down depending on how many you’re serving. There are about 5 sandwiches per hump in the caterpillar, so if you’re serving a small group, you can made individual caterpillars with one hump (just keep in mind you’ll need extra tomatoes for the heads). If you’ve got a large group and a big enough plate, you can add as many humps to the caterpillar as you want. A giant one would be lots of fun!
P.S. If your kids won’t touch anything spinach related (my 4-year-old is going through a no-green-things phase), you can make the same design using fruit or vegetables. For example, you could make a kiwi, watermelon, and mango body with blackberry feet and half an apple for a head. Or go the Caprese salad route with a cucumber, tomato, fresh mozzarella body and tiny basil leaves for feet. Have fun with it!
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Very Hungry Caterpillar Sandwiches
“One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and–pop!–out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.”
— The Very Hungry Caterpillar
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 10-inch spinach tortillas
- 5 slices American cheese
- 10 slices Genoa salami (2 inches wide)
- 7 black olive slices
- 1 Roma tomato
Makes 10 mini sandwiches (1 large caterpillar)
INSTRUCTIONS:
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- Using a 2-inch circle cutter, cut out 20 circles from your tortillas and 10 from your cheese slices. Using the tortilla scraps, use a knife to cut out 2 2-inch long teardrop shapes and 2 3/4-inch long ovals (these will be the antennae and pupils). Using the cheese scraps, cut out 2 1-inch ovals (these will be the irises). Cut a small square from one of the black olives (this will be the nose). Cut the tomato in half lengthwise. Scoop the seeds out of one half with a spoon. Discard the seeds. This half will be the head.
- Starting from the back, start building the body on a serving dish. Alternate placing tortilla, cheese, and meat circles in a wavy line. I found it looked best to have 5 mini sandwiches per hump in the caterpillars body. At the bottom of each hump, add a pair of olives for feet.
- Place the tomato half on one end of the body. Place the antennae on top, and the eyes and nose on the head.
- Serve to a horde of hungry caterpillars!
If prepping ahead, wrap the plate tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge to keep the cheese from drying out.
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