open toasted cheese with spring onion, smoked red pepper and coppa

Today is a Wednesday but it feels like a Sunday in South Africa as its a public holiday, and also the day we vote in our regional elections.  I made my X this morning so now I have the rest of the day to relax and dream up a few more meals.

This recipe is inspired by Lynn Bedford Halls ‘Coffee Shop toasted cheese special’ from the the chapter on Amatilda’s recipes, from ‘Fig Jam and Foxtrot’. So quick and easy to make, it takes an ordinary grilled cheese on toast to another level.

You can really add so many things to a basic mix of grated cheddar and an egg.  Like: chopped onion, spring onion, chilli, paprika, red pepper, tomato, other cheeses, herbs, bacon, fried mushrooms etc.

For 2 slices of toast, I mixed about 80 gm of grated cheddar with 1 free range egg.  I then added about 6 small salad spring onions which I had finely sliced, a pinch of smoked chilli, 1/2 tsp of smoked red pepper sprinkle (or smoked paprika), about 5 small rosa tomoatoes quartered, a few sprigs of parsley snipped, and about a slice of shredded coppa per slice of toast to finish it off on top.  I used Richard Bosmans coppa.  Bacon would be lovely too.

Toast 2 slices of bread on an oven tray under a grill (not too close to the grill), and mix all the above ingredients (except for the coppa)  into a paste.  Spread this evenly over the untoasted side, scatter over the shredded coppa, and then grill until bubbling and brown.

This is delicious served with a small crunchy side salad drizzled with vinaigrette.