Toasted Cheese

What could be simpler than cheese on toast – and what better way to use up all the ends of cheese in the fridge? Though soft goat’s cheeses are lovely melted on to toast and served with salads or soups, for a filling dish on its own there’s nothing better than toasted mature English cheese, such as Cheddar, red Leicester and so on – cheeses with a slightly sharp edge. Ideally, use a really thick slice of nutty brown bread for this.

• First toast one side of the bread under the grill. If you like Worcestershire sauce, mix up to a teaspoon (depending on your taste) into the grated cheese. Turn the bread over and squash the grated cheese over it in a layer about 1cm thick (or layer thin slices of cheese on it, if you prefer). Then simply grill the whole lot until the cheese is bubbling.

Some other ways with toasted cheese :

• Welsh rabbit Gently melt 110g grated cheese, 30g butter and ½ wineglass of brown ale until bubbling, then pour it over toast. Try it. It’s delicious.
• Buck rabbit Welsh rabbit with a poached egg on top.
• Leek rabbit Cook sliced leeks gently in a little oil until softened. Toast the bread on one side, spread the other side with a thin layer of Dijon mustard and put the leeks on top. Cover with a good strong Cheddar cheese and grill.
• Cayenne Use a pinch of cayenne pepper instead of Worcestershire sauce.
• Anchovy paste, mustard or Marmite These are lovely spread thinly under the cheese.
• Croque Monsieur This can be an open or a closed sandwich, toasted, with a slice of good ham between the toast and the cheese.
• Mushrooms on toast Lightly fry sliced mushrooms in butter with some finely chopped garlic and parsley, then spoon them over a thick piece of toast. Grate over a good layer of Parmesan and grill or bake for a couple of minutes until the cheese has melted. Though this is neither an egg nor a cheese dish, it is – at a long stretch of the imagination – a variation of cheese on toast, whipped up with just as little fuss.
• Using up odds and ends of cheese My grandmother thought nothing of keeping bits of cheese without their rinds until she had enough to melt slowly in a pan with a teaspoon of English or French mustard. She poured the molten cheese into a small ramekin (or pot), allowed it to cool and then covered it with a thin layer of melted butter. This she kept in the fridge for sandwiches. It’s actually a rather eighteenth-century idea, and a quick way to make toasted cheese.