Since the wonderful folk at Jackons of Yorkshire asked me to become an ambassador for their brand I’ve been experimenting with the classic cheese toast and I truly believe that this triple decker grilled cheese sandwich with 2 types of cheese, pesto, spinach and mushrooms is pretty close to sandwich perfection!
Other than using some wonderful bread (I’m using Jackson’s Seeded White Bloomer) my number one tip for that ultimate golden crispy crunch is mayonnaise. Yes, you read that correctly. Mayonnaise. Preferably full-fat although I have tried it with the low-calorie kind and it works just as well. You use it instead of butter on the outside of the bread and it works SO well I can’t actually believe more people don’t know about it.
Now this really is comfort food at its very best. I’ve added a little bit of ‘health’ in the form of some wilted spinach and mushroom but quite frankly it’s still ridiculously fabulous. Oh and I\ve thrown in that extra middle slice of bread because… well, do I need an excuse?
This recipe makes 2 triple decker sandwiches.
- 3 slices of bread per sandwich
- 5 medium mushrooms – roughly chopped
- a large handful of fresh spinach
- butter, olive oil and salt and pepper
- mayonaise – I use roughly half a tablespoon per slice
- mustard – I use 1 teaspoon per slice
- pesto – I use 1 teaspoon per slice (I’ve used a ready-made pesto.)
- 2 types of cheese – I used a strong cheddar and a Red Leicester but use your favourite cheese – roughly 100g of each.
Start with the mushrooms and spinach
Heat a little butter and olive in a pan and sauté the mushrooms for about 8 mins until they are golden. I like to do this on a medium heat and add plenty of freshly ground pepper half way through.
Once the mushrooms are how you like them, turn the heat down and throw and large handful of spinach on top. If you have a lid, place it on top but they should wilt down regardless after a few minutes. Stir well and take them off the heat.
Now onto the sandwich
The first thing you need to do is grill the middle sandwich and get it nice and crispy. So you’ll need a griddle pan for this. You can do it in a regular flat pan but I prefer the lines that a griddle pan gives. You’ll also want a cooling rack like you’d use for a cake.
Place the pan on a medium to high heat. Slather one side of your bread with mayonnaise and place it mayo side down onto the pan. Slather the top side of the bread in more mayonnaise. Let the bread cook for a few mins until golden and then flip it over and grill again for another few mins. Take it off the heat and place it on the cooling rack. This will help keep it crispy.
Now it’s time to layer the sandwich. Start with the bottom layer by slathering it with pesto. Then add half the cheese. Place the grilled bread on top. Then a layer of the spinach and mushroom, followed by the rest of the cheese. Slather mustard on the top layer of bread and place it mustard side down onto the top.
Place the griddle pan back onto the heat. Slather mayo onto the top of the top slice of bread and flip the whole sandwich onto the pan. Slather the now top of the sandwich with mayo and grill both sides until golden.
For more sandwich recipes check out these on Dom in the Kitchen.
Eat and of course, enjoy!
