Phil Vickery's posh cheese toasties
Phil Vickery’s in with the perfect cure for a hangover after a big night - he’s making two posh cheese toasties - a macaroni cheese toastie and a tasty croque monsieur.
Phil's macaroni cheese sandwich
Serves: 4-6Preparation time:- 15 minutesCooking time:- 20 minutes in total
Ingredients
200g dried macaroni2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil2 medium onions, peeled and very finely chopped275mls milk½ 10g vegetable stock cube40g butter, softened30g plain flour175g grated strong CheddarPinch or two of nutmeg1 level tbsp English mustardSaltFreshly milled pepper
Method
Cook the macaroni in plenty of boiling water, until just cooked, then drain well, add a tbsp oil to stop the pasta sticking together
Warm the olive oil and add the onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften
Add the milk, stock cube then bring to the boil
Meanwhile mix the butter and flour together, to form a paste
Once the milk is boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer, then whisk in the butter and flour mixture, and cook gently for 2 minutes
Take off the heat and stir in 125g of the cheese and the cooked macaroni
Add a pinch or two of nutmeg, mustard, pepper, salt and the chopped basil
Spoon into an ovenproof dish, top with the 50g grated Cheddar and the breadcrumbs then brown under a hot grill or in the oven for about 6-8 minutes
Or pack into a cling film lined 2lb oblong cake tin and chill well, best overnight
Slice thickly, then place between two slices of bread, buttered on the outside, then grill in a sandwich toaster or frying pan for 3-4 minutes on each side and serve
Phil's croque monsieur
Serves: 2
Ingredients
275ml milk40g butter, softened30g plain flour4 slices white bread4 slices of ham100g Gruyere cheese
Method
Warm the milk in a pan and allow to simmer. Mix the flour with the butter to form a paste and whisk into the simmering milk for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Brush the bread with butter on side and grill butter side up until nice and brown. Remove from the grill and spread the other side with mustard, top with ham, Gruyere cheese and place the other piece of bread – toasted side up and press down.
Place the sandwich in the oven for 6-8 minutes
Remove from the oven and top with the white sauce a little more cheese and cracked black pepper
Bake in the oven for a further 10-12 minutes