Cheese toasties are a beloved comfort food, delivering rich flavours and a quick dinner – or snack – in next to no time. But if you’re tired of the same old plain cheese, one chef has revealed his straightforward recipe for making the cheese extra “melty” and bursting with flavour – and you won’t need mayonnaise.
Ditching the mayo entirely, chef and Channel 4 Served content creator Imran Ali, better known as What In The Chef, whipped up a mouth-watering cheese toastie for an Italian nonna using generous helpings of Italian cheese. His secret weapon, however, is a condiment you’ve most likely already got sitting in your kitchen cupboard.
To give the cheese toastie a south Asian twist, Imran swaps mayo for mango chutney. In a recent TikTok video, Imran said: “Today I’m gonna try and impress an Italian nonna with a mango chutney, mozzarella, Galbani cheese toastie.”
View 2 ImagesMango chutney will add a burst of sweetness and tang to the toastie(Image: Getty)
Rather than mayo, you’ll need whipped ricotta cheese to achieve a smooth, creamy filling. To pack the cheese with flavour, Imran throws in a blend of spices, herbs and spring onions.
The spices also help to add a welcome splash of colour to the filling. To truly elevate a humble cheese toastie, forget slathering mayo onto the bread, reports the Express.
Instead, Imran recommends using mango chutney to deliver a sweet, sticky and subtly spicy kick running through the cheese. When toasting in the pan, Imran noted that you don’t want too fierce a sizzle.
This ensures the underside of the bread browns evenly without catching, while still melting the cheese through. Once the bread is golden brown and the cheese is “melty in the middle”, take it off the heat and cut the toastie in half.
Nonna replied: “Mmm. Very, very nice.”
At the time of writing, Served’s video has clocked up more than 10,500 views, 710 likes and 11 comments. Tryfena wrote: “I love fusion recipes and this bhai is doing it well!”
Avril commented: “That looks so good.”
Shamina said, “Looks delicious,” while another simply commented, “Looks fire.”
So if you fancy an effortless way to liven up your next cheese toastie, here’s how you can recreate Imran’s recipe at home.
Ingredients (serves two)
For the ricotta mix
- Four tbsp Galbani Ricotta
- Caramelised onions
- One red onion, thinly slice
- One tsp brown sugar
- One tbsp olive oil
- Pinch of salt
For the toasties
- Four slices tiger bread
- 300g Galbani Mozzarella Cucina, sliced
- One spring onion, finely sliced
- Half a red chilli, finely diced
- Handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1.5 tsp medium curry powder
- 0.5 tsp turmeric
- Two tbsp mango chutney
- Handful of spinach
- Butter, softened (for spreading)
Method
In a small bowl, mix ricotta (four tbsp), red chilli (0.5, finely diced), coriander (handful, finely chopped), medium curry powder (1.5 tsp), turmeric (0.5 tsp) and spring onion (one, finely sliced) until well combined.
In a pan, heat olive oil (one tbsp) and add red onion (one, thinly sliced) and brown sugar (one tsp), stirring occasionally to caramelise.
Butter the outside of each slice of tiger bread (four slices). On the unbuttered side of two slices, spread the spiced ricotta mixture evenly, right to the edges.
Next layer on the caramelised onions, slices of Galbani Mozzarella Cucina (300g), spinach (handful) and finish with mango chutney (two tbsp) before placing the final slice of bread on top.
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Press the slices together, ensuring the buttered sides are facing outwards.
Cook in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for several minutes on each side until golden brown and the mozzarella has melted through.
Serve straight away, with additional mango chutney on the side if you fancy it.