Classic Cheese On Toast
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Cheese on toast is basically the British counterpart to the more North American grilled cheese sandwich. Many people believe the American Revolutionary War of 1775 to 1783 was fought over something mundane such as independence, but real historians know that it was actually fought over over which of these two classic bread and cheese combination was the best. Of course, the best way to win a war is to simply have the better product, as Sony aptly demonstrated when their superior Betamax system eliminated VHS from the market.
Anyway, enough with the super-accurate and totally not made up history; what we're really interested in here is creating that superior product, in this case by crafting the perfect cheese on toast. Cheese on toast is, at its most basic level, and incredibly simple dish; place cheese on slice of bread and grill it. What we have here then is essentially an exercise in research to find out the best way to actually do that: what cheese should we use? how should we season it? and what kind of bread works best?
This is my attempt to solve all those questions. I've gone for sourdough as the bread, simply because I feel it's got a light flavour that wont detract from the cheese, and because it tends to toast fairly well. Gruyère is chosen for its fine and slightly nutty flavour that is mild enough to not overpower, coupled with its excellent melting ability; Parmigiano-Reggiano acts as a compliment to add more of a salty umami flavour, ofsetting some of the sweetness. The choice of an Mornay sauce rather than melting the cheese at the grilling stage is complicated, but basically it allows for seasoning and additional flavouring to be better combined, as well as allowing for a more even layer of cheese in the final product; adding ale to this is purely for the simple fact that everything tastes better with beer. Egg yolk adds richness to the flavour, ground mustard gives it a little kick, and worcestershire sauce further enhances that salty, umami aspect. The spring onions were chosen to give it a litle visual flair.
The result is pretty damn good, if I'm honest; when it comes back to the war, this is certainly a secret weapon.
Classic Cheese On Toast
Serves: 4 People
Golden ale Mornay sauce (Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano Béchamel) and scallions on fresh sourdough.
Ingredients
- 4 Slices of Sourdough
- 100g Gruyère
- 100g Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 25g Butter
- 25g Flour
- 250ml Golden Ale
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Spring Onion
Instructions
- Grate the Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and set to one side.
- Heat a pan to a low temperature, and add both the butter and flour. As the butter melts, mix these together to form a roux.
- Slowly add and mix in the golden ale.
- Once the ale is fully mixed in, add the egg yolk, ground mustard and worcestershire sauce. Mix in thoroughly.
- Add both cheeses to the mix, and stir in as they melt. At the end of all of this you should have a fantastic ale-based Mornay sauce.
- Cover one side of the sourdough in the cheese sauce, and place under a grill at a low/medium temperature. Repeat for all four slices.
- Whilst the grilling is in process, dice up the spring onion.
- Once the cheese starts to brown, add the spring onion, then grill for another minute or two to finish things off.
Notes & Tips
Whilst you could use other ale varieties, you don't want something that is either too hoppy or too bitter; this is why golden ales work well. If you have a height adjustable panini press, then the grilling process can be done in this by adjusting it to the maximum height (such that it wont touch the cheese) and placing the cheese on toast in between; the top plate will toast and grill the cheese quite well even from a short distance away.
