Chilli cheese toast
Prep time less than 30 mins
Cook time less than 30 mins
Makes enough topping for 6–8 slices
Dietary Vegetarian
From The Incredible Spice Men
When I began my career at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay some thirty-eight years ago, the most popular canapé item in banqueting at its restaurant was the chilli cheese toast – a spicy relative of the Welsh rarebit. Indians are habituated abusers of every cuisine and this creativity gets the taste buds tingling. I know you will make your own versions too, go for it! I am no purist, so add cayenne pepper as some do, or chilli powder as others do.
Method
-
Melt the butter in a saucepan on a medium heat and mix in the flour with a wooden spatula, stirring continuously. Cook for two minutes, stirring all the while, to make a roux. Remove from the heat. Gradually whisk in the beer or milk, and stir briskly for a few seconds until there are no unmixed bits of roux about, and return to a medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce starts to thicken, then simmer gently for 3–4 minutes.
-
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheeses, egg yolks, salt, chopped chilli, garlic, pepper and chopped coriander, return to a low heat and cook gently until all the cheese has melted and the mixture starts to bubble at the edges – it will be very thick at this stage which is correct. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
-
Heat the grill to maximum. Toast the bread, either under the grill on both sides or in a toaster. Dollop the rarebit mixture generously over the toast, place under the grill until bubbling and golden-brown in places. Serve hot with chutney.
Ingredients
- 50g/2oz salted butter
- 50g/2oz plain flour
- about 250ml/9fl oz beer or milk
- 100g/4oz mature Cheddar, grated
- 100g/4oz Caerphilly or other mature cheese, grated
- 25g/1oz Shropshire blue or other blue cheese, crumbled, or more to taste
- 3 free-range egg yolks
- pinch salt
- 2–3 mild fresh green chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely crushed (optional)
- 1 tsp crushed black peppercorns
- 1 heaped tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 2–3 tbsp English mustard
- 6–8 thick slices bread
- chutney, to serve
This link may stop to work if/when the BBC removes the recipes