Grilled Cheese and ‘Slaw

I don’t usually eat sandwiches, but the sight of all that melted cheese and the ingredients list  for this recipe in Nigella Express were extremely tempting. I also assumed that the meal as a whole must be a step above the standard grilled cheese (or ‘toastie as it’s more often known in my house) and coleslaw to be worth inclusion in a cook book

To be honest it was a bit of a trial run but it was absolutely delicious. The coleslaw was a refreshing change from the usual fare (the caraway seeds absolutely make the dressing) and so tasty I made it every day for my lunch all week. The addition of a little mayo and Worcestershire sauce was also a revolutionary improvement to the standard cheese sandwich.

I can see myself making this coleslaw in larger quantities to share at summer barbeques, and popping on this toastie for a quick weekend lunch on the go. I can also confidently say this is the best coleslaw dressing I have ever made. If you want something different to take along to parties and barbeques, you should definitely give this salad a go.

Grilled cheese sandwich ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches)
Ingredients:

• 4 slices thick white bread
• 2 tsp good mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 75g good chedder cheese, thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil

Heat a ridged grill pan or frypan if you don’t have a grill pan.
Mix together the Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise and spread over the four slices of bread. Divide the chedder and the tomato between two slices of the bread, grind the black pepper over the top and then top with the other two slices of bread.
Brush the bread with olive oil and place on the hot pan. on top of the sandwiches, place a pot, frypan or cake tin and weigh it down with heavy tins to compress the sandwiches. Cook for 2 minutes each side, pinned down with the weighted pot.
Cut and serve with coleslaw for a delicious meal!

Sandwich Slaw (to serve 2)
Ingredients

• 1 Red Delicious apple
• 1 carrot
• 75g finely shredded wombok cabbage

Dressing

• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 x 15ml tbs mango chutney (you can use any chutney you have to hand)
• 1 x 15ml tbs lemon juice
• 2 x 15ml tbs good mayonnaise (preferably whole-egg)
• 1/4 tsp Maldon salt or a pinch of table salt

A mandoline is absolutely your best friend here – use it to finely julienne the apple and (peeled) carrot and then place in a bowl with the finely shredded wombok.
In a separate bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients and pour over the vegetables, then toss to mix.
Serve with the sandwich, or alongside barbecued meats as you wish. Obviously you can simply multiply the ingredients to suit your number of guests, but be aware that this does make a generous serving and you may need less than you think.