Five years ago I fell in love.
There we were wandering about the Borough Market in London when I spotted a cabinet stacked with ready-to-cook cheese sandwiches. Poilâne sourdough, Montgomery Cheddar, Ogleshield, leek, onion and garlic. Such a delightful collection of ingredients.
Snaking away from the small vendor was a constant line of hungry punters, waiting their turn to bite into cheesy nirvana. I had to join them. Wise move as the line of people grew to about 15, and every time the aroma of the toasting sandwiches hit me I knew I was in for something special.
The first bite wasn’t the most pleasant. That bubbling cheese burned my lips, but I couldn’t stop. This thing was freaking amazing! The combination of cheeses was so sharp and delicious, slightly mellowed by the leek and onion mixture.
It’s taken several years, but I’ve made my own version of this toastie. I stuck by the sharp aged cheddar idea as it’s this that really makes the sandwich shine. To ramp the flavours even more I’ve thrown in some beautiful Turkish sucuk.
I adore it every time I have it in restaurants. It’s heavily spiced and intensely aromatic, but the problem is that it’s only available at specialty suppliers; most of which are too far from home.
Then I remembered the MFC Supermarket in Rosebery. Close enough to home and they stock it constantly.
I’ve gone the old fashioned route and toasted the sandwiches in a pan. No sandwich press in this household, you see, so a griddle pan did the trick perfectly. Lots of sizzle, lots of cheesy smoke, a gentle flip and a little more sizzle.
I cooked the slices of sucuk on the pan first. Not only does it grease it up when the oil releases from the sausage, but the delicious oil soaks into the bread when it’s time to do the sandwiches.
Hello flavour!
*Duck egg blue Sun Grill supplied by Chasseur
Course | Breakfast/Brunch |
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