Roasted Mushroom Grilled Cheese

Roasting mushrooms gives them a great, meaty texture that is perfect for this toastie. This takes more time, but – trust us – the flavour is far more intense.

Ingredients

• 100g (3 1/2 oz) chestnut (cremini) mushrooms, quartered

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1 tsp olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 2 slices of sourdough bread, buttered on one side

• 100g (3 1/2 oz) mixed grated cheese (see below for our blend)

• Handful of fresh parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped

Grill My Cheese by Nisha Patel and Nishma Chauhan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6. Put the quartered mushrooms in a roasting dish with the garlic and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix to coat and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, giving them a little shake halfway through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly.

Place the bread slices buttered side down and sprinkle the grated cheese over one slice, followed by 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mushrooms; there should be enough to cover the bread and ensure you get mushroom in every bite (save any left over for another use). Add parsley before closing the sandwich and cooking using your preferred method (panini press, frying pan, toasted sandwich machine, oven).

OUR GRATED CHEESE BLEND: At Grill My Cheese, we use a signature blend of four different cheeses that we have created to give the best flavor, melt and stretch. It is a blend that works great on its own but at the same time has been created to complement all the other fillings we use.

• Keen’s Cheddar (1 part) – an unpasteurized, strong-flavored Cheddar matured for a minimum of one year. It has a creamy, smooth and firm texture and long, earthy, rich, nutty flavors with a sharp finish.

• Farmhouse mature Cheddar (2 parts) – a great flavor enhancer to mellow out the blend slightly.

• Swiss Gruyère (1 part) – a buttery, sweet, slightly nutty cheese with a flavor that varies widely with age. We use one of the younger varieties; the more mature it is, the more earthy and complex the flavor.

• Cow’s ‘low moisture’ mozzarella (2 parts) – known for its mild flavor and great ‘stretch’, this is one of the most versatile and best cheeses to use when adding stronger flavors to a toastie.