Rich ham and cheese toastie

Rich ham and cheese toastie
  • Serves icon Serves 4
  • Time icon Hands-on time 25 min

Monica Galetti’s rich ham and cheese toastie is a classic taken to the max: grilled sourdough with cheesy béchamel, extra melted cheddar and parma ham.

Monica Galetti was the first-ever female senior sous chef at Michel Roux Jr’s restaurant Le Gavroche. She later rose to fame as a judge on MasterChef: The Professionals. Monica is a judge on the Platinum Pudding competition for The Queen’s Jubilee, and with her husband David runs the acclaimed Mere restaurant in London.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
561kcals
Fat
35.6g (18.4g saturated)
Protein
26.6g
Carbohydrates
32.7g (4.1g sugars)
Fibre
1.8g
Salt
2.8g
Calories
561kcals
Fat
35.6g (18.4g saturated)
Protein
26.6g
Carbohydrates
32.7g (4.1g sugars)
Fibre
1.8g
Salt
2.8g

Ingredients

  • 300ml whole milk
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 30g plain flour
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 200g mature cheddar, grated
  • 4 sourdough bread slices
  • Olive oil to drizzle
  • 100g parma ham slices
  • Worcestershire sauce or hot chilli sauce to finish

Method

  1. Heat the milk in a saucepan. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the flour. Whisk in the hot milk and continue whisking as the sauce comes to the boil, then cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes to cook out the flour (removing the flour’s raw taste for a nuttier flavour). Take off the heat, then stir in the mustard and most of the cheddar, reserving about 70g.
  2. Heat the grill to high. Drizzle the sourdough with olive oil and arrange on a large baking sheet. Toast under the grill on one side until golden. Turn over, spread some of the cheese sauce over the sourdough, then add a layer of ham. Cover with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle over the reserved cheddar.
  3. Put back under the grill to melt the cheese. Drizzle with a little Worcestershire sauce or chilli sauce – whichever you prefer – then serve immediately

delicious. tips

  1. You can make the cheese sauce (step 1) 1-2 days ahead. Cool, then cover and store in the fridge until ready to assemble. The sauce will thicken to a spreading consistency when chilled but will loosen up when heated under the grill.

Recipe By

Monica Galetti

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Read what others say...

  1. Clearly a cheese on toast expert, who understands toast one side, turn, and add topping. The only way to truly amazing cheese on toast.Not really a surprise though, Monica is ace!

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Dinner inspiration in 20 minutes

Manchego and chorizo toasties

The iconic croque madame crosses the border to Spain! Manchego...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Toastie recipes

Mozzarella and pesto toasties

The ultimate toasted sandwich, oozing with mozzarella and pesto and...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Toastie recipes

Cheddar, pickled mushroom and wild garlic toastie

In a cheese toastie cook-off, chef Sasha Matkevich came out...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Brunch recipes

Croque madame

Can a day really start any better than with a...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food lovers, treat yourself this Christmas... Enjoy 12 months of magazines for £29.99 – just £2.50 an issue.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.