ALL HAIL THE toasted sandwich! I won’t have a word said against them. It is a divisive issue though, how do you define yours?
Do you go down the toasted sandwich maker route to create a sealed steamy melty sandwich of the divine? Or do you make yours in a frying pan with a weight to press it down? Both of those are great with me (and regulars in my kitchen), but do not tell me that a toasted sandwich can be just a sandwich made with toast. We can not make that a thing, defend it or even excuse it.
Whatever way you paint it, the toasted sandwich makes a spectacular and speedy lunch, so satisfying too. The trouble is, how to stop at one? (Answers on a postcard or in comments please).
Some basics before we begin. The inside is important, but the outside is too. For a rich golden brown butter the outside, or – and trust me on this – use mayo for a perfect golden crunch.
The center needs to be hot and oozing and threatening to hurt you with a whack of steam if you go in too quick. Beyond that we are flexible.
I won’t hear a word against it. Many a wild Irish night out was built on the bedrock of toasted specials, and many a hangover was rescued by one too. Ham, cheese, onion, tomato. As posh as you want, or not. Go crazy and add crisps on the side. Why wouldn’t you?
Leftover chilli con carne or similar in a toastie is a very fine thing indeed, you can also use ragu. Top it with a good cheddar and you are good to go – although you could elevate it with some thin sliced red onion and some herbs like coriander. Veggies could use refried beans here.
What’s that?! Frico hails from Italy, as with many good things, and can be thin or thick. It was originally a way of using up bits of leftover cheese, and the thin one is a thing of pure joy, being… a lacy crisp thin sheet of fried cheese.
You can replicate this on your favourite toastie by making your toastie in a frying pan. Use good crusty bread, put your choice of filling in – cheese inside too, of course, and I like to keep it simple with just cheese and tomato – and fry in a little butter and oil (half and half so that the butter doesn’t burn) with a thin layer of grated cheese underneath the toastie. Put a sheet of greaseproof on top and something heavy (a tin of tomatoes or similar will do) to weigh it down. Flip it and do the same on the other side. Best eaten with a knife and fork unless you have asbestos fingers.
YES! Crumble the black pudding in. So delicious. If you want to be fancy add a little finely chopped flat leaf parsley.
Jess Murphy of Kai in Galway has some cardinal toastie rules: “Alway butter both sides otherwise you are dead to me, never use sourdough on a toastie as there are too many holes and that is a mortal sin.
“My favourite is melty Durrus cheese and onion marmalade. Be sure to leave it to rest to avoid burning yourself and tart them up with a little bitter salad and fresh apple.” If you can’t find Durrus, try this with camembert or taleggio.
Chop the broccoli into small bites and include chunks of stalk for texture. A pop of tomato works well in here too. So good.
Takashi Miyazaki of Ichigo Ichie in Cork has a lovely Japanese twist. “Put some Japanese kewpie mayo on and toast in a Zojirushi oven toaster. Inside, runny scrambled egg.” Yes please.
You can use your grill at home for this, turning it half way through – and to replicate kewpie mayo, use a little standard mayo and add a little vinegar.
“Toasted cheddar or smoked mozzarella toasted sandwich with sauerkraut or kimchi and pickles,” says food writer Imen McDonnell of Lens and Larder. “With mustard and mayo it is to die for.”
“Ham, cheddar – and I add butter, cheese and sliced onion on the top slice against the griddle to glaze up and give that fried onion flavour,” says Gaz of Michael’s in Dublin. “Fried onions make everything taste better. I like mine on soft batch, I find it toasts lovely but stays soft in the middle.
“Controversially I put my ham in after the toasting, it warms up just right from the heat of the cheese but hasn’t got that double cooked flavour, but I’m odd. Spoon of tomato relish always works a charm too.”
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