Readers’ recipe swap: Toasties

For me, a toasted sandwich is one of the top five greatest pleasures in life. Buttery, golden and crisp bread filled with something impossibly indulgent seems to sooth my soul and satisfy my stomach in equal measure, and by the looks of it, I am not alone in that sentiment. I could pretend that eating a toastie of some kind for every meal for an entire weekend was tough going, but the reality is I enjoyed every bite of it.

Bobby Ananta’s pineapple, chilli and cheese toastie with a crisp, crunchy top is borderline outrageous, but you will have no regrets about making it. If, like me, you like the odd ham and pineapple pizza, this will be a surefire winner. MizPepperpot’s curried chickpea toastie is the perfect storecupboard supper, but if you are passing by the shops, this is even better made with garlic naan bread. Marmaduke Scarlet has once again come up trumps with a souped up croque monsieur filled with leftover bolognese sauce.

You need no further excuse to make extra of this midweek classic. On the sweeter side, two of our readers reinvented traditional desserts to fit into toastie form – perfect when you need a good pudding, and you need it fast. Claire Dyer’s take on Eton mess was filled with mascarpone and a honey and strawberry compote. Messy to eat if, like me, you overfill in your excitement, but an utter delight. Eilidh Ferguson’s banoffee toastie stuffed with banana, toffee sauce and chocolate chips, had my fellow taster and I fighting over the last mouthful: my advice from this experience is never to share.

The winner this week is admittedly a little left-field in this category, containing no dairy, but it still managed to elicit the same comfort and satisfaction as its super-melty counterparts, and for that reason, all the toasted sandwich fans out there should try it. Rhian Williams’ combination of garlicky hummus, smoky squash, creamy avocado and rocket melds into something warming, rich in texture and well balanced in flavour, with a fraction less of the guilt.

The winning recipe: vegan toasted sandwich (pictured above)

Plant-based eating at its best: you won’t notice the lack of cheese.
Rhian Williams, via GuardianWitness

Makes 1
2 slices thick sourdough or ciabatta
3-4 very thin slices of butternut or other squash
½ tsp smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp hummus
Olive oil
1 ripe avocado, sliced
A handful of rocket

1 Pop the slices of bread into a toaster, then heat a glug of olive oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add the butternut squash, smoked paprika and seasoning. Fry until the squash is soft and golden brown, which takes around 5-10 minutes.

2 Spread the hummus on one of the pieces of toasted bread, top with the squash, slices of avocado and handful of rocket, then sandwich together.

3 Add a little more olive oil to the same frying pan and, once hot, fry the sandwich until it has just warmed through, turning over halfway through to ensure both sides of the bread are equally browned.

Eton mess brioche toastie

A beautiful pudding of a toasted sandwich: sweet cheese with a fruity filling.
Claire Dyer, Hastings

Makes 2
4 slices of brioche
10 strawberries, topped and quartered
2 tsp runny honey
150g mascarpone
1 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to serve
2 mini meringue nests

1 Put the strawberries in a pan with 2-3 tbsp water and the honey. Cook gently over a low heat until the strawberries break up and the liquid thickens; this should take around 10 minutes. Transfer to a clean bowl. Leave to cool.

2 In a separate bowl, whisk the mascarpone with the icing sugar until incorporated, then crumble in the meringues and gently fold in.

3 Take a piece of sliced brioche and spoon on the mascarpone mix to a thickness of around 2.5cm, followed by a spoonful of the strawberry mixture. Place the second piece of brioche on top and place the entire sandwich on a heated griddle pan or heavy-based frying pan. Cook for 1 minute on each side, or until the brioche browns. Take care when turning the sandwich as it’s delicate.

4 To serve, slice in half and sprinkle with icing sugar while still warm.

Banoffee toastie

I’m 12 years old and for my Christmas I got a toastie machine. I love eating this traditional pudding in toastie form.
Eilidh Ferguson, Hexham

Makes 1
2 slices brioche bread
½ banana, sliced
2 tbsp toffee sauce
Handful of dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate, chopped
Whipped cream, to serve

1 Toast the brioche until crisp, but not golden. Spread the toffee sauce on one side of each slice. Generously sprinkle chocolate chips on one slice. Arrange the banana on the other.

2 Sandwich the two sides together and put it into a warmed toastie machine until the brioche is golden brown and the chocolate has melted.

3 Serve straight away with whipped cream on top.

Cheese and pineapple toastie

The only sandwich with a chance of curing the mother of all hangovers.
Bobby Ananta, Leicester

Makes 2
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated, plus a little extra for topping
100g camembert, diced
50g parmesan cheese, grated
100g pineapple, finely diced
2 red chillies, finely chopped
½ tsp black pepper, cracked
6 makrut lime leaves, stems discarded and finely chopped
4 slices sourdough bread, a little stale, if possible
50g butter, melted

1 In a medium bowl, mix together the cheeses, pineapple, chillies, black pepper and lime leaves, then set aside.

2 Brush the bread with the melted butter and make two sandwiches with mixed cheese as a filling – be generous with the filling.

3 Warm a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat, sprinkle the extra grated cheddar cheese directly into the pan. Place the sandwich on top. Let the cheese melt and turn golden, press down on the sandwich with spatula. Flip it over and toast for another 3 minutes, until the filling melts, then serve while still hot.

Croque boum boum

A variation on the classic croque monsieur that uses up leftover pasta sauce – oh be still my beating heart! The trick to getting perfectly melted cheese, crisp textured bread and a fabulous nutty flavour is slow cooking, as well as using a little mayonnaise.
Marmaduke Scarlet, via GuardianWitness

Makes 1
15g butter, melted
2 slices of bread, preferably white
1-2 slices of ham (enough to cover a slice of bread)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp leftover bolognese or any tomato-based pasta sauce
40g gruyère or emmental cheese, grated
1 Preheat a well-seasoned or nonstick frying pan, then turn down to a low to medium heat.

2 Lay the bread slices out so that the “insides” are facing out. (This won’t make much of a difference if you decide to cut the crusts off later.)

3 Combine the mustard with the mayonnaise and liberally smear over each surface. Layer the ham over one slice. Dollop with enough bolognese sauce to cover, then sprinkle with a generous layer of grated cheese.

4 Top with the remaining slice of bread, with the mustard layer facing downwards to form your sandwich. Brush this layer with melted butter.

5 Turn the sandwich over and place on the frying pan. As the sandwich begins to cook, butter the exposed top side. After about 2 minutes, the bottom of the sandwich should be slightly golden and crisp. Turn over and cook the other side for about 2 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Curried Chickpea Toastie

A spicy little treat for a cold winter’s evening. I used a Tikka Masala curry paste but just about any will do. It’s important not to over mash the chickpeas as these, along with the sweetcorn, give a nice texture.

MizPepperpot, via GuardianWitness

Serves 2
2 large pitta, 2 individual naan breads or 4 slices of white bread
200g chickpeas
1 medium tomato, diced
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 tbsp frozen sweetcorn, defrosted
1 tbsp curry paste
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tbsp chopped, fresh coriander
Pinch of salt
Vegetable oil or butter, for greasing
Raita, to serve
Salad, to serve

1 Split the pitta or naan down one side and gently prise open the middle to make room for the filling. If this proves difficult, toast or microwave the bread for a few seconds and this will create steam to force the layers apart.

2 Oil a toastie maker or frying pan, then lightly mash the chickpeas with a fork before mixing in all the remaining ingredients until well combined.

3 Fill the bread with the chickpea mix, then place in the sandwich maker and cook until crisp and golden. If using a frying pan, you may have to use a lid to begin with, in order to ensure the onion gets cooked through. Serve with some raita and salad.

Eve O’Sullivan is a food writer and stylist and the co-author of The Kitchen Shelf (Phaidon), which publishes in May