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Food

Cheese and Truffle Toastie

Serve with red wine sauce to dip it in.
Cheese and Truffle Croque Recipe

When it smells delicious and there's a satisfying crunch when you slice through it with a knife, then it's done.

Servings: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

for the red wine "pho" sauce:
2 garlic cloves, skin-on
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 (3-inch) piece ginger, sliced into rounds
5 grams fennel seeds
4 whole cloves
2 pieces star anise
1 black cardamom pod, cracked
500 ml red wine
30 ml balsamic vinegar
500 ml beef stock
30 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 small bunch coriander
1 small bunch Thai basil
1 red chili, stemmed and thinly sliced for the sandwich:
60 grams good quality black truffle paste (don't get cheap stuff or else it will taste like the devil's soul)
8 slices cheap-ass white bread
250 grams Tunworth cheese, sliced
a jar of pickled walnuts
mayonnaise

Directions

1. Make the red wine "pho" sauce: Heat a medium heavy duty pan over high. Add the garlic, onion, and ginger and cook until blackened, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and toast an additional 2 minutes.

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3. Add the red wine and vinegar and cook until reduced by half, about 8 minutes.

4. Add the beef stock and reduce by half again, an additional 10 minutes.

5. Whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, until emulsified. Remove from the heat and add in the coriander, basil, and chili and allow to infuse for 30 minutes and up to an hour before straining. Reheat gently to serve.

6. Make the sandwiches: Spread 4 slices of bread with the truffle paste. Arrange the walnuts and cheese over the top and finish with the other slice of bread. Spread the outside of each sandwich (top and bottom) with mayonnaise.

7. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high. Add each sandwich and toast, flipping once, until browned on each side and the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes. Serve with the red wine sauce to dip it in.