It is difficult to improve on sandwiches as the ultimate casual meal, since they are satisfying, comforting, easy to eat and relatively inexpensive.

There are some fabulous ones on the market, but once you get started, it is remarkably easy to come up with your own fillings and bread combinations.

In France le sandwich still tops the list for fast food, with nine sandwiches sold for every hamburger. The favourite is the most traditional – and least expensive – le jambon beurre.

At its best, it is a satisfying combination of fresh baguette with a crisp crust, unsalted butter and air-cured ham such as jambon de Bayonne. It is certainly our favourite for eating on the train when travelling in France as it does not get soggy.

With the average French lunch hour now something less than 30 minutes, compared with one-and-a-half hours some 20 years ago, three-course meals, followed by a tit café et un cognac, are no longer the norm. A sandwich at the desk or in the park is the more usual option.

Supermarkets, cafes, brasseries, hypermarkets and bakeries all offer sandwiches now to meet the vast appetite, whether for organic sandwiches, hot sandwiches, mini sandwiches, luxury sandwiches, wraps, buns... whatever tempts.

Some of my favourite sandwich places are still the Italian cafes and delis to be found throughout London, which offer the best.

These are à la carte sandwiches made to order. You have to hope there are a few people in front of you to give you time to choose, not only the filling, but the bread, then butter or mayonnaise or cream cheese.

Then any additions such as mustard, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, rocket, sliced avocado – what you will. Marks & Spencer commercialised the prawn sandwich in the 1980s but it was already a staple in the cafe near where I worked.

Home-made sandwiches are hard to beat, whether for the school lunch box, the office, or a midday snack at home

However, home-made sandwiches are hard to beat, whether for the school lunch box, the office or a midday snack. But what sort of sandwich? With luck, there will be one or two covered dishes of leftovers in the fridge, some roast chicken perhaps and some coleslaw or cooked asparagus. Or some grilled vegetables.

With those, I would add a slice or two of mozzarella. If there’s roast pork or meatloaf, I’ll go and hunt for a jar of my home-made chutney.

One of the most extraordinary sandwiches I ever ate was the muffuletta, served by a friend one New Year’s Eve.

‘Just to keep us going’ before our midnight supper, he split a flat loaf and filled it with sliced Gruyère, salami, prosciutto, cooked ham and pickled vegetables giardiniera-style.

He wrapped it tightly, pressed it down for a while, then unwrapped and served this New Orleans invention in wedges like a cake. This would fill several lunch boxes more than adequately.

As well as ftira, I also like English muffins, as they are quite sturdy, but ciabatta or a baguette will do just as well, as will wholemeal bread, rye or what you will.

Of course, if you make your own bread, by hand or in a machine, then a whole range of new possibilities opens up; focaccia or ftira made with beetroot juice, carrot juice, tomato paste, seaweed, black olive paste or parsley chlorophyll will give subtly coloured and flavoured breads for truly designer sandwiches.

Rye flour or spelt will offer a different texture of bread. Rye is particularly good with smoked fish. There are four elements to the perfect sandwich: the bread, the spread, the main event and the accompanying greenery or vegetable.

Here are 10 more meals in a bun to get you started.

Bacon and egg – to be enjoyed at any time of day

Take crisply cooked bacon rashers (or pancetta slices), thick tomato slices, grilled mushroom, grilled black-pudding slices or cooked sausage, and one or two egg omelettes folded to fit slices of granary bread or a ħobża, spread with a little mustard butter.

Chicken and avocado – a perfect way to use the remains of a roast chicken

Take some diced or shredded chicken and mix with finely chopped, cooked spinach and mix with lemon mayonnaise. Add thin slices of ripe avocado, season lightly and for bread use wholemeal or granary or fill a split ciabatta bun or baguette.

Mix lemon zest, a little juice and freshly ground black pepper with softened butter for the spread.

Curry Club – a club sandwich with a difference

White or wholemeal slices are layered with devilled egg salad and curried chicken as well as greenery. Spread the three slices with spicy mango chutney, lime pickle and butter flavour with curry paste.

Liguria – more from the Mediterranean

In a split ciabatta bun, spread with fresh basil pesto, layer sliced mozzarella, ripe avocado and tomatoes with plenty of fresh basil leaves.

The Mexican Blanket – use the remains of the Sunday roast

Take slices of rare roast beef, combine with a subtle, fruity but not too hot salsa, some guacamole and shredded lettuce and wrap in a corn or wheat flour tortilla. Spread first with cream cheese.

Roast pork – another Sunday joint for Monday sandwiches

Use sliced roast pork and stuffing if you have it, mixed salad leaves and fruit butter, apple sauce or chutney on a wholemeal muffin.

The Oyster House fish sandwich – have this one hot or cold for a satisfying lunch

Use a soft, large bun or bap or a ftira. Split it and spread with tartar sauce. In it place a freshly fried or grilled fillet of fish, trimmed to shape and sprinkled with Tabasco.

A cold fish sandwich is also delicious, especially with the addition of thinly sliced marinated cucumber.

Try it with cold, grilled mackerel fillet.

Topkapi – a flavour of Greece

Open out and spread some pitta bread with hummous. Fill with very thinly sliced roast lamb, rocket and a mixture of yoghurt, chopped dried apricots and flaked almonds. Roasted aubergine, peeled peppers and courgette slices with feta cheese can replace the lamb in a vegetarian version.

Roast lamb – with the remains of the Sunday joint make this instead of a shepherd’s pie

Use pink slices of tender roast lamb and a spoonful or two of ratatouille between slices of olive and herb bread or tomato bread, spread with olive paste or tapenade.

Open breakfast sandwich – make this for eating at home

Served on lightly toasted, split English muffin or ftira, scrambled egg, crumbled crisp pancetta and grilled black pudding.

Smoked salmon or other smoked fish can replace the pancetta and black pudding, in which case I would mix a little horseradish with the butter for spreading.

Penang – for those who like it hot

Take sliced, cooked chicken breast rubbed with a little Thai curry paste. Sandwich it in a muffin, spread with peanut butter mixed with finely chopped, preserved ginger, some shredded iceberg lettuce and diced pineapple.