Ultimate cheese toastie the Jay Rayner way.

Ultimate cheese toastie

Ingredients

160g Raclette cheese (substitute with Emmental, Appenzeller, Fontina or Gruyère)80g Montgomery Cheddar (it does not have to be Montgomery, unless you are keen to match the Wigmore kitchen product for product; useany strong mature Cheddar)80g Ogleshield cheese (substitute with Taleggio or Fontina)20g finely chopped red onion30g finely chopped cornichonDijon mustard4 slices of sourdough breadSalted butter (the Wigmore uses clarified butter, but I rather like the caramelisation you get from the dairy solids; you could always use vegetable oil)

Method

1. Grate the cheese, and mix thoroughly in a bowl with the finely chopped red onion and cornichon.

2. Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on one internal side of each sandwich.

3. Layer generously with the grated cheese mix, and press down with the second slice of bread. Hilariously, I now appear to be explaining how to use two pieces of bread to make a sandwich..

4. Heat a non-stick or, better still, a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan over a medium heat and add a good knob of the butter. As it melts swirl it around to cover the base of the frying pan. Add the first sandwich and cook over a medium heat for about 4 minutes.

5. Press it down forcefully into the butter with a spatula every now and then. (The Wigmore uses a sandwich press.)

6. After 4 minutes, carefully turn it over on to the other side. The cheese will have started to melt, bonding it all together. Add another knob of butter, and lift the toastie it has now become so you can swirl the newly molten butter in underneath. Cook for another 4 minutes, again pressing it down occasionally.

7. Put on a plate or board and leave to cool for a couple of minutes, as you start to cook the second. At the Wigmore they cut it into 4cm wide slices, which does make it easier to eat.