It’s all about the cheese
FOR COOKING OVER THE CAMPFIRE WITH WONDERFUL ENGLISH CHEESE, QUICKE’S HAVE A TOASTIE RECIPE THAT’S HARD TO BEAT
Here at Quicke’s, we know our cheese. The Devonshire family farm, which has been around for nearly 500 years, specialises in cheddar, from buttery to crumbly, from creamy to nose-ticklingly vintage. Each handmade truckle goes from field to table on one site; we nurture the grass that feeds the cows who make the milk for our artisanal cheeses. And now, all our clothbound cheese is made exclusively with Cornish Sea Salt, adding a new complexity of flavour. So who better, then, to try to come up with a dream cheese toastie? With such amazing ingredients to hand, our team took the challenge pretty seriously. Here we share our mouthwatering, winning recipe.
Campfire cheese toastie
Serves 4 300g Quicke’s Mature Clothbound Cheddar, coarsely grated 150g Quicke’s Devonshire Red, finely grated 50g Quicke’s unsalted whey butter 8 slices of good bread (we like sourdough for ours) 10 fresh sage leaves A pinch of smoked Cornish Sea Salt
1 Start with the fire. We like to use a mixture of sustainably sourced charcoal and logs from our estate. Spread the wood around the base of your barbecue or firepit; light it, then be patient. Your fire is ready when the coals show a well established grey coat.
2 Take a heavy bottomed pan – cast iron is best – and then place directly on the coals. While you’re waiting for your pan to reach a medium heat, grate the Mature Clothbound Cheddar and the Devonshire Red into two bowls, keeping them separate.
3 Now butter each slice of bread on one side – these will form the outside of the toastie. Start by placing the bread, butter side down, in the pan; it should sizzle but not smoke. Then sprinkle the Mature Clothbound Cheddar over the bread. Don’t worry if some falls into the pan, these sticky scraps will make your toastie even more delicious.
4 Place a second slice of bread on top, butter side up. Then leave your toastie alone until it turns a lovely brown colour and the cheese has melted. Once you are happy with your toastie’s colour, carefully flip it and repeat on the other side.
5 Now comes the magic… Sprinkle the top, toasted side with half the Quicke’s Devonshire Red and flip the toastie to cook the cheese. What will happen is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary. The Quicke’s Devonshire Red will go so crisp that it gives the toastie what only can be described as cheese crackling. Once achieved, repeat this step with the toastie’s top side. Double cheese crackling.
6 Once your toastie starts to ooze, pop it on a plate and tear two or three sage leaves onto it. The heat of the toastie will release the oil in the leaves and the smell will be incredible.
7 Last but by no means least, give a generous sprinkling of smoked Cornish Sea Salt to make those gorgeous flavours zing.