Cheese toasties with apple, thyme and mustard

There’s nothing wrong with simple toasted cheese, of course, but the addition of apple or pear and fragrant herbs elevates this iconic snack to something gorgeous. It’s lovely to have a mix of cheese: Comté or Gruyère for gooeyness and strong Cheddar for punchy flavour.

oil, for greasing

salted butter, for spreading

2 slices of bloomer or other white bread

Dijon or seedy mustard, for spreading

25g grated Gruyère cheese, Comté or mozzarella cheese

25g grated mature Cheddar or other flavourful cheese

½ apple or pear, finely sliced

about ¼ tsp chopped thyme leaves

Serves: 1 (but can easily be scaled up to make 2–3 in the same tray)

Takes: 15 minutes

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F and lightly oil a 30 x 20 x 5-cm roasting tray. Place it in the oven to heat.

Butter the bread on both sides, then spread mustard on one slice. Top the mustardy slice with the cheeses, apple or pear and thyme. Place the other bread slice on top and press together.

Place the sandwich in the hot roasting tray and place a baking tray or ovenproof pan on top – this will press the toasty together like a panini. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the top and the bottom of the sandwich are golden and the cheese melted. Serve immediately.