Matty Matheson: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches: A Cookbook

by Matty Matheson

The acclaimed chef, New York Times bestselling author, and executive producer and actor on The Bear redefines cooking’s iconic soups, salads, and sandwichesChances are you’ve eaten a soup, salad, or sandwich in the past day (or maybe all three). This trio makes up so many of our meals but is rarely given the attention it deserves–until now. Matty Matheson, known for his bold, innovative flavors, has created a cookbook that will revolutionize how you think of these kitchen basics. This book is for anyone and everyone, offering up Matty’s signature twists on the classics, delivered with minimal effort for maximum flavor.Find your favorite combination by mixing and matching dishes Giant Meatball Soup; Crab Congee; Creamy Sausage Soup with Rapini and Tortellini; Caldo de Pollo Everyone’s Mom’s Macaroni and Tuna Salad; Griddled Salami Panzanella Salad; Peaches with Goat Cheese, Mint, Honeycomb, Olive Oil, and Espellete Cubano; Italian Combo; Sun Warmed Tomato Sandwich; Banana Bread French Toast with Fried Egg, Peameal Bacon, and Maple SyrupPacked with character, personal stories, scrumptious recipes, and vivid photographs of a day-in-the-life with Matty and his family, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches will have you fearlessly whipping up your own combinations in the kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

368 pages, Hardcover

Published October 22, 2024

About the author

Matthew James Matheson is a Canadian chef and internet personality. He was the executive chef of Parts & Labour, a restaurant located in Toronto, Canada which permanently closed on 1 January 2019. Matheson regularly appeared on Vice's show Munchies.

Reviews

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best cookbooks I have read this year but sadly, it won't be for everyone. The author, who many might recognize from Hulu's awesome show The Bear, delivers an exuberant love letter to soup, salad and sandwiches with his third cookbook.

With the same level of ebullience his character Neal exhibits on the show, Mattheson shares his take on soups, salads and sandwiches. The recipes range from as simple as humanly possible to complicated multi-day affairs, but at the core every single one is creatively done. The book is also chock full of photos, of the food as well as the author and his family.

Why won't this be for everyone? Well, Mattheson being who he is lets his free-spiritied freak-flag fly and some may not appreciate his profanity laced stream of conscious writing style. For those who love soup, salad and sandwiches and aren't faint of heart, this is a true treasure deserving of a spot on the cookbook library shelf.

[beans · Rating 5 out of 5]

bro this cook book is straight gas. unpretentious and just full of good shit.

[Katie Rutan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read. Opening this book and reading it feels like talking to an old friend. But god damn can the man cooookk too! If you want to be challenged, this book has it, and if you want something that’s a warm hug, this book also has it. What a FUN read. Ripped it out of the box and had to devour it today. I know what I’m giving to every foodie this Christmas.

[Noemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I’ve ever sat down and read a cookbook cover to cover. I laughed out loud many times. A lot of these recipes are too time consuming or look too complicated for me to want to make, but looking forward to trying several of these.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

“As long as the love is just a little greater than the fear, we’re eating good tonight” -Matty Matheson

This cookbook is witty, creative, delicious. Full of inspiration AND nostalgia. Chicken Finger Crouton Salad? Tuna Melts?!?! SOUPS??? Yeah, I can make that.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yum!! Our fridges have the same fuckin stuff....he swears like me...almost eats like me and when I finished reading this I had a fuckin grilled cheese 👍🇨🇦

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

About to cook the shit out of this food

[Tyffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soups, salads, and sandwiches makes up most of what I actually eat. I wanted to add some different turns on my home menu and yes. Just yes and vibes and raise a highball to this book of achievable class.

You're a fucking animal for putting 4 slices of American cheese on your grilled cheese sandwich though.

Roasted squash and mozzarella grilled cheese with honey was amazing, fried sprouted cauliflower sando - so good. I'm looking forward to making the chicken thigh shawarma with pickled turnips sando. I've got opinions about jambon beurre but this recipe met every point I'm picky about.
I'm never making that tuna melt or the clubhouse, those would for sure send me to the hospital.

[Jessica Petit · Rating 5 out of 5]

mattys books rock

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

All offensive words have been disguised with various symbols so as not to offend.

So let me just say from the start, the F-word doesn’t faze me much. If it’s shouted in anger or fear, now that’s another thing but if it’s used in casual conversation, I really don’t give a F*#K. It’s odd to say, but when I’m reading non-fiction and the author uses this kind language, I feel a strange kinship. (That is so weird because I don’t use this type of language much. Only on very rare occasions when nothing else seems to fit.) I feel like maybe the author is being more honest in their writing. Before I go down a rabbit hole, let me just say that Matheson uses this word frequently, but in a totally sincere way.

Case in point. The first section of Soups, Salads, Sandwiches is obviously soup. He ends the intro to that section with “Now, go buy some groceries and make some f*#king soup” (7). He’s a very large tatted up dude. Yet, what is the first recipe in this book? Lightest of Broth of Garden Herbs with One Chile (8) and he urges you to make it for the person you love. The broth is made with chive, nasturtium, and marigold flowers. Conundrum on the horizon for sure.

I was not expecting the soups that followed—a root vegetable broth with tofu (14); Soupe au Pistou (16); Cabbage Soup with Crème Fraîche, Smoked Trout Roe, and Chives (19). I was totally boxing Matheson into a stereotype. Then, I found the soups I was expecting—Pumpernickel, Beer, and Cheese Curd Soup (24); Broiled and Burnt Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Crostini Thing (29); Broiled Broccoli and Cheddar Soup (30); Rhode Island Clam Chowder (39); and Baked Potato Buffet Vichyssoise (48).

His sincerity and love of cooking (and sense of humor) come through. He comments on the photo of one of his soups this way:

This photo kinda looks like there’s just chile oil on top of dirty dishwater after washing old spaghetti-sauce filled Tupperware. Ignore all of that; despite what I said, this soup is fire. (15)

Be prepared. There are a lot of photos of Matheson with most of his tats showing. But there are also beautiful photos of his soups despite the comment above.

The soup recipes just kept slapping me in the face (to paraphrase a lot of Matheson) and there is no way to classify them. I thought there would be the “classy elevated” soups like the first two I mentioned, then a hearty category. While there are those, the rest just can’t be pigeon holed. Where do a put crab cake soup (76) and Giant Meatball Soup (85). You have to know that the Giant Meatball Soup (in Beefy Tomato Broth) serves four but contains 2 pounds of meat. That’s a big meatball.

Matheson is up front at the very beginning of the salad section. His family’s definition of a salad was taco salad—“just ground beef with Fritos on top” (107). It was new for him to think about salads as veggies and greens. But there’s a caveat in the intro, “Salads are anything that’s mixed up” (107) so there’s a lot of “other” types of salads in this section. He also does a short treatise on the “sh!tty house chef—chopped salad…. You know, the one where you get to pick if you want ranch, blue cheese, French, Thousand Island, or Italian. I love that we live in a world where (for the most part) there’s only one salad and five dressings that exist” (108). He loves this lowest form of salad but the salads he presents are far from that.

We are going to make salads in this book that are beautiful, that are mundane, that are hard to make. Salads that are good and fresh and salads that are even better three days later. Salads that I hope you’ll make for the rest of your life. Salads that are healthy and salads that are probably not that good for you. Salads that you can bring to your friends’ houses to brighten up their day. Salads that you can make in a bowl and by the time you’ve completed it, you’ve already eaten half of it because it’s that good and you’re not going to share with anybody because you ate it like a big ol’ hog. (108)

That pretty much covers all the bases.

None of these are sh!tty salads. They are inspired. And, some are not the healthiest (probably). Where else could you find a dressing with beet juice and honey balanced with pork fat?

There are a few more “traditional” salads like Rizzo’s Wedge Salad (124) which is an homage to his daughter and her love of green pepper. The blue cheese dressing sounds amazing. Orzo and Goat Cheese Salad (133) is another “mainstream” one.

I’m always on the lookout for a good celery salad (because that’s another surplus item in our farm bags). His Celery Salad with Creamy Honey Dressing (114) is simple but has the opposing tastes of dates and Limburger cheese thrown in.

The other salads are hard to categorize, just like his soups.

Spaghetti with Mint, Ricotta and Olive-Oil Baked Bread Crumbs (129) is more like an appetizer as is Charred Corn Esquites-Style with Fried Oaxacan Cheese Curds (131).

Broccoli Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing, Fried Egg, and Gorgonzola (116) is a total meal.

Some of his salads are more like sides to me: Zucchini Salad with Manchego, Salsa Verde, and Pepper and Pine Nut Relish (119) and Chickpea Casserole (135).

Some recipes are more dessert like. He admits that the recipe, Peaches with Goat Cheese, Mint, Honeycomb, and Olive oil does look like “a stupid appetizer your great-auntie pulled from a glossy magazine and served to you as part of Sunday lunch” (113). Maybe but the flavors are so far beyond great-auntie fare with candied maple walnuts, ripe peaches, an herbaceous salsa verde, goat cheese, mint and honey comb.

The above paragraphs are just a sampling of the salad section; there is everything from Everyone’s Mom’s Macaroni and Tuna Salad (137) to Cannellinis with Roasted Red Peppers, Raisins, Capers, Anchovies, and Parsley (145) to Sashimi Salad (173). The Taco Salad (180) does make an appearance but it’s a bit more elevated than just meat and Fritos.

So back to the stereotype. This is how Matheson opens his final section: “my first love is a bologna sandwich…. It’s an honest meat. I don’t understand why bologna gets harped on so much” (189). Sandwiches seem to be his love language; I estimate that about half the book is devoted to sandwiches.

To get all up in the soup or sandwich or salad debate, I definitely found more achievable recipes in the sandwich section. While the previous two sections were salivating worthy, they were a bit more than I wanted to put time into. Honestly, a lot were just too complicated for me. But, let me tell you, the first recipe in the sandwich section had me, with it’s “Cheesy Mexican pickled jalapeño beef. Texy mexy beefy. Cheesy sexy texy mixy jalapeño beef” (192). It’s definitely doable and reminds me a bit of Matheson’s family taco salad recipe. We’ve got us American cheese slices, iceberg lettuce, and packaged taco seasoning here.

This section has more than just bologna and taco sloppy Joe’s though. Immediately following his Taco Sub is a Roasted Squash and Mozzarella Grilled Cheese with Honey and Bee Pollen (197). The Stracciatella di Bufala, Caponata, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Cherry Peppers and Basil (213) is served on focaccia bread. His Roasted Chicken Thigh Shawarma with Pickled Turnip and Hot Peppers (235) is on my list to try. There are the standards that Matheson elevates in his own way too: BLT (210), Matty and Trishy Tuna Melts (207), and Fried Shrimp Po’boy (233) among others.

Along the Matheson’s merry way, he does share his cheffy secrets, just in his way: “Broil the f*#K out of it” and the like is used but then he also includes his recipes for chicken consommé and court bouillon.

Matheson drops cultural literacy references throughout his hednotes, nods to Will Ferrell and Elf, Highlander (old school one), Jack Nicholson and the end of The Shining, and Lord of the Rings. Those mini-essays aren’t to be missed.

I totally enjoyed reading this book. Would this be my go-to cookbook for soups, salads, and sandwiches. Probably not but it was a great read.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matty Matheson is charming--funny and relatable. I also had the sense that he actually created (or at least helped create) and made every dish in this book, which is decidedly not the case for every cookbook author. He's also very thorough: for example, in the recipe for his chicken parm sandwich, he tells you how to make chicken parm and even gives you the recipe for the tomato sauce to use! And he does not skimp on assembly instructions for ANY recipe. YOU WILL KNOW HOW TO MAKE THAT DISH LOOK FANCY.

But Matheson is also no snob: there are "fancy" recipes here but also, as he would say himself, "trashy" ones. And I for one appreciate that.

I got this cookbook from the library, but I think I'm going to buy a copy. It had enough good-lookin' recipes and solid advice to make it worth it. And some of those recipes are actually multiple recipes: like I said, that chicken parm sandwich isn't just a sandwich recipe, it's also a recipe for chicken parm and for a tomato sauce that's good on subs (plus a pepper relish he uses on this sandwich). What's amazing is that none of these are really that tough, at least as he describes it--he breaks it down so well.

[Kay Parsons · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover of this cookbook looked like it would be fun. What a disappointment. And not edited for Australian publication, even though the publisher for this edition is listed as Murdoch Books in Sydney and London. (There is a conversion section at the back for measures, but some ingredients I did not recognise.) I was really put off by the author's language - I mean, who calls their loving family members "my fucking dogs"? I'm sure he was just trying to be laid back and cutesy, but this really wasn't for me. Even though I have to confess that some of his dialogue was entertaining.
The recipes were outrageous, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. For example, there is a cauliflower sandwich (I kid you not) that takes 12 hours to prepare; at the other end of the spectrum is a sandwich that consists of sliced tomatoes and mayo on sliced white bread. Some of the sandwiches are really a normal main course dish served up between two pieces of bread or in a baguette (such as a lasagna sandwich). I could go on and on, but I won't. The quality of the book itself is good, and good food photography. However. Can't recommend.

[Danis Miller-Bucholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertaining and interesting cookbook! My husband received a signed copy of this cookbook as an Xmas gift and I was interested in reading it, since just before Xmas I read the new Stephen Colbert cookbook and found that to be a good read. This one does not disappoint. I'm a fan of Matty Matheson's from watching The Bear, and his personality really shines through in this text. The book contains so many wonderful recipes, each one prefaced with a blurb by him about how the recipe came about and why he loves it. The instructions for each recipe are very detailed and there are gorgeous photos to accompany each recipe, too. Additionally, there are lots of fun photos of Matty, his wife Trish, and their kids enjoying these recipes. Lastly, I liked that the recipes reflect so many different cultural influences that have been significant in Matty's life as both a chef and as a consumer of good food. Highly recommend this book for anyone in your life you enjoys cooking!

[Brenda Dickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten Speed Press provided me with a free copy of this book: the opinions are my own. This to me, is a very different kind of cookbook. I find most of the recipes NOT for the home cook. They have ingredients that can be difficult to find and a bit pricey for the average home cook. Still, I do want to try some of these recipes. I did enjoy the writing and some of the photos of Matty and his family. In all honesty I was a little put off by the half-clothed, full body tattooed photos in a cookbook.

[Kayla Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Matty’s humor and creativity, but the best parts of this are his stories, not the recipes themselves unfortunately. I was hoping to have more than 20% of the recipes be attainable for the home cook, but these are mostly filled with impossible to source ingredients and a lot of “project” cooking (which I like too, but that is not how this book is being marketed and also off brand for the chef). I would classify this as more of a coffee table book, beautiful but not one that I’m going to use over and over again.

[Josh Gravholt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really inspiring. We saw him speak about the book, and his life, and frankly, I feel like this book captures his essence and personality so well. He writes the way he talks, if a little bit more focused and to the point in writing. As for the recipe content, it’s somehow pretty straightforward, due to the themes, and also not. There’s some very straightforward things and some very interesting combinations that are inspirational
and when it comes to the exploration of flavors and creativity, I can’t wait to work through some of the soup recipes that I flagged for the winter.

[Haley Hallahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderfully versatile cookbook! I love Matty’s approach to creatively making delicious dishes. There’s a wide range of offerings - from simple ingredient recipes that take -2 seconds to whip up in the kitchen, to more intentionally flavorful and complex ingredient options. There’s variety for all.

I also loved how this book felt like a personal documentation of Matty’s life in a visual autobiographical depiction. The film photographs, aligned in the book’s designed layout was chefs kiss 🤌

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this book is also a love letter to Fort Erie, the Maritimes, and also Western NY… three places I’m very familiar with. There’s still some bougie ass shit in this book and stuff I won’t make, but there’s also Bologna and processed cheese because life is about balance. I don’t necessarily like to make the stuff, I just like to read cookbooks and look at the pictures so this book is perfect for that. It’s engaging and the writing is in a colloquial style, all around a win.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun cookbook by Matty Matheson with a focus on soup, salad and sandwiches.
I found several recipes that I will definitely try and several that were so wild that I had no desire to try them.
The photos are great and many are hilarious , just like Matty himself!
Some of the recipes had hard to find ingredients and looked like a real project prep experience, but others were quick and easy!
Good cookbook!

[Arin Kurtz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this but I just can’t get behind it. In the intro, Matty writes that this is the kind of cookbook you could cook out of every day which is FAR from true unless you live in a specialty grocery store and have 5 hours to cook a sandwich.

I do think this is a very fun and well thought out cookbook and it looks beautiful (great photography and fun anecdotes from Matty). But, it serves more like a coffee table book than a cookbook which in my opinion was disappointing.

[Katt MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is so full of character, I could literally hear Matty's voice all throughout. The photography is beautiful. We got not only gorgeous food shots but tons of Matty and his family.

FINALLY, THE LASAGNA RECIPE IS INCLUDED.... AND HE TURNS IT INTO A FREAKIN SANDWHICH. iykyk...

So many recipes in here I want to try. Some are crazy simple, some more complicated. So many are cozy, homey, and nostalgic.

[Nicole Cardenas · Rating 5 out of 5]

ladle my body broth into your bowl of life…

im convinced matty and i are long lost family or something. to see someone love soups and sandwiches this much?! and who thinks salad can be anything? give this man his flowers. and also a certified Lover Boy, half of the recipes are love letters to Trish - can it get any more fucking romantic?

this book is now one of my most prized possessions, and just in time for soup season

[Kennady Remillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve flipped through plenty of cookbooks but I actually sat down to read this, all the descriptions and purpose of each recipe and being a big fan of Matty, felt like I was watching one of his YouTube videos. Idk can’t explain it but this cookbook is fucking awesome lol. And idgaf, I’m gonna count this towards my reading goal cause
1. I’m in a reading slump
2. This might have got me out of it.

[Amanda Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this so bad, but there were so many flaws. Even down to the thesis. This book is not for the home cook. This book is for a cook off the clock who happens to be at home. Many recipes required simply too much from a home cook. Too much time, too many obscure ingredients, or too much intuition required to know when a recipe is leading you down a road to undercooked chicken cutlets.

[Cynthia Paschen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“As long as the love is just a little greater than the fear, we’re eating good tonight” -Matty Matheson

This man! This cookbook! I adore both.

My daughter and I have been catching up on the new season of The Bear. A delight.

The family photos, the love for his wife and kids, the recipes, the commentary, the profanity, I am here for it all. Keep loving others, keep cooking. amen.

[Beverly B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much. Recipes are simple and not wordy, reading Matty swear constantly is hilarious and love all the family photos! Really gives it a homey feel. Would highly recommend, one of new favourites for sure!!

[Dri Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, beautiful and down to earth cookbook. I expected to flip through it to admire difficult recipes I would never try but I was surprised to see plenty of simple and easy to follow recipes (along with their extravagant counterparts). I recommend it!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has many creative, food-loving, delicious-sounding recipes in it. Some are very complex and multi-step, and others very straightforward. The author's comments on each recipe are enthusiastic (to say the least!) and funny.

[Jodell Larimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this average but feel others will rate it much higher. Did not find a recipe that I really wanted to try to replicate. But then I'm not an East Coast kind of person, nor a Midwest kind of person, nor a person that has an unlimited budget to experiment with...

[Marlee Baldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is the recipe called “Scallion Pancakes” when you’re just going to tell us to “buy scallion pancakes from a local Chinese bakery”?! 😭