Cheese toasties with sticky shallots

Name: Cheese toasties with sticky shallots
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 4 slice/s white sourdough bread; 4 tsp mayonnaise; 2 salad onions, finely sliced; 150 g No.1 Beemster Dutch Gouda, coarsely grated; 20 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated (optional)

Angela Hartnett prepares this recipe for Nick Grimshaw and guest Helena Bonham Carter on episode 19, season 8 of Dish, the Waitrose podcast. To start, Nick serves Mother Root non-alcoholic aperitif with tonic, then the meal is paired with Loved & Found Feteasca Alba Brut. It's the king of winter lunches and a great sofa dinner.

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Serves2
CourseCanape
Prepare15 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr 5 mins
Plusmarinating

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4 slice/s white sourdough bread
4 tsp mayonnaise
2 salad onions, finely sliced
150g No.1 Beemster Dutch Gouda, coarsely grated
20g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated (optional)

Shallots

4 Shallots, peeled and quartered
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tbsp clear honey
2 large pinches Ottolenghi Aleppo & Other Chillies

Tip the shallot ingredients into a bowl and stir. Season and set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment, add the shallots, then roast for 30 minutes, turning once. Set aside to cool slightly, leaving the oven on if adding Parmigiano Reggiano.
Spread one side of each slice of bread with mayonnaise and flip them over – these will be the outsides of the toasties. In a bowl, mix the salad onions with the Gouda and divide between two of the bread slices. Top with the shallots, then the other slices of bread (with the mayo on the outside).
Transfer to a large, heavy-based, ovenproof frying pan and fry over a medium-low heat, pressing down with a spatula. Fry for 5-8 minutes until golden underneath, then flip and fry for 5 minutes on the other side. For a show-off finish, sprinkle a layer of Parmigiano Reggiano over each sandwich, then put the pan in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Enjoy with a few crisps, if you fancy.

Cook’s tip

When Angela Hartnett made this recipe for Helena Bonham Carter, she used gluten free white tiger bread and added grated comté, gruyère and mozzarella to the cheese mix.