Rachel Khoo: Grilled cheese sandwich

Is there a better afternoon treat than a grilled cheese sandwich? Since visiting Morty & Bob’s in Netil Market, I have had to rethink this comfort-food staple. It’s time the humble toastie is brought out of the nursery and gets the recognition it deserves. Morty & Bob’s has offered up some tips on creating the perfect grilled cheese sandwich: from buttering the outside, to choosing the ideal bread (I use St John’s white sourdough) and its special cheese combo made from three Neal’s Yard cheeses.

Grilled cheese sandwich

Serves 1

For the cheese sauce (makes 280g, enough for about 6 toasties):

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp plain flour

200ml milk, lukewarm

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Salt and pepper

30g Gruyère or Cheddar, grated

4 tbsp chives, finely chopped

For each toastie:

40g salted butter, spreadably soft

2 large slices of sourdough

40g Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, grated

40g Raclette, in 3mm-thick slices

To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to a smooth paste. Take off the heat and then gradually add the milk, whisking constantly. Put the pan back over a medium heat, add the mustard, season with salt and pepper and whisk frequently to stop the sauce clumping on the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce thickens, take it off the heat. Add the cheese and chives and taste for seasoning.

Spread some of the butter on one side of each slice of bread. Spread a couple of tbsp of the cheese sauce on the other side of one slice and add both types of cheese. Press the other slice over the top, butter side up. Heat a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the sandwich and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Press it down with a spatula while it cooks.