Topsy-Turvy Toastie!

When I was a wee slip of a girl, on a Sunday night if we weren't having pancakes for tea, then we would be eating toasties. A toasted sandwich must be one of the easiest meals to make and even if you aren't able to boil water, you can usually make a toastie.

Toasties are one of those simple things, like a pizza, that can be anything you want it to be, with their combinations of fillings only limited by our imaginations. You don't have to possess one of those fancy grill machines either, a toasty can be cooked on a flat griddle, in a frying pan....a la Elvis! or simply fling it into a hot oven.

But who decreed that a toastie had to be a filling between two slices of bread? well no-one as far as I know, so an alternative way of enjoying the 'toastie' is to deconstruct it..... and deconstructing things seems to be all the rage in today's culinary scene!.......in other words, we take all those delicious elements usually required for our dish and rearrange them in a style to suit ourselves.

This dish involves having the crisp toast, using 'biscotte 'style bread, as the base, our meat filling in the centre and a melting, saucy little top!
So what is 'biscotte' bread?  Biscotte is a type of sweetened bread, popular in Switzerland, Germany, France and Scandinavia, that is baked twice.....the first time it is baked as a normal loaf in the oven, then when cooled it is sliced , laid flat on a tray and returned to a coolish oven to brown slightly and dry out....the end result is a crisp rusk that makes a perfect base for my toastie. To avoid the whole problem of making the sweet bread I use a loaf called a 'Lodger' which I think could possibly be unique to Northern Ireland, although don't quote me on that!

 

Even after some research I haven't found it talked about anywhere else. The lodger is a milk loaf  baked in a tin with these amazing  ridges and looks fab when baked with it ridged rounded top. One thing I've always noticed about the lodger loaf is even when bought fresh, the loaf never seems to be that 'fresh' so it suits the 'biscotte' method of preparation to a 'T'.
Simply slice it about a finger width thick...I have thick fingers!.... lay the slices on a baking sheet and place in the oven 140oC for 30-40 minutes until fully dried out and really crisp.
Let them cool then store them as you would a cracker.

Next thing is our sauce.....for this I used a Veloute style sauce which is a white sauce made using stock instead of milk, and for this I used a little of the ham stock......so you will need....makes enough sauce for 4 portions.....

50 g butter
50 g plain flour
100 mls ham stock
200 mls water
100 mls white wine
100 mls soured cream                                  
sea salt , fresh black pepper
1 small onion
150 g chestnut mushrooms
1 clove garlic

How to........

• peel, halve and slice the onion quite thin
• wash and slice the mushrooms
• mince the clove of garlic
• heat the water and ham stock and keep it hot
• melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan, add the onions and cook gently for a minute, cover with a lid and allow them to sweat
• turn the heat up and add the mushrooms, cook for a few moments then add the white wine
• bring to the boil and reduce a little
• add the flour and mix well, cook for a moment or two on a medium heat 
• slowly add the hot stock and keep stirring as the sauce thickens
• add the crushed garlic then allow the sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes on a low heat
• add the soured cream and mix in well, season with salt and pepper.....remember not to add too much salt as the sauce will absorb a lot of the flavour from the ham!

If you don't like the tang of soured cream then you can use fresh cream or creme fraiche, if watching you waistline, use milk instead.

I allow 2 portions per each baking dish, you can do them individually or in a large baking dish.

• place a single biscotte slice per person on the dish
• top with some of the cooked ham hock
• spoon over the mushroom sauce....you can use a little or have it swimming if you like loads of sauce...it's personal preference...I like it saucy!
• top with slices of cheese, I like to use Swiss raclette with a bit of grated cheddar as it is really creamy when toasted, but you can use Edam, Gouda, Cheddar, Mozzarella, or any other cheese that melts and browns really well.
• Bake your dish in the oven 180oC for about 15 minutes, or if your sauce is warm already you can just pop the dish under a hot grill

Enjoy this as a complete dish on its own or with a salad on the side. Eating along with potatoes and vegetables is really not a good idea....bit too heavy on the stomach for my liking.

You don't have to use ham in this dish, I have found it equally delicious with chicken, prawns, salmon, even avocado or broccoli....be as adventurous as you like with your style of fillings, whatever tastes good in a white sauce will work well........bon appetit!