A cheese toastie makes for a delightful lunch or indulgent snack. Rich, salty and savoury, it's an excellent pick-me-up — but on its own it's not especially substantial.
There is, however, one incredibly affordable ingredient you can incorporate into the humble cheese toastie that transforms it from a snack into a proper meal.
This particular lunch was a regular fixture throughout my university days because it's speedy, economical and satisfying. I always relied on a deep-fill toastie maker, though it can equally well be prepared in a panini press, a standard toastie maker, or even a frying pan.
The secret ingredient
The additional ingredient is tinned spaghetti — it might sound unusual, but I assure you it's absolutely delicious. The tomato sauce contributes depth of flavour, while the spaghetti renders the cheese toastie far more filling.
It's a staple in New Zealand, where I was raised, and I believe it deserves to become popular over here too.
What you need
If you'd like to give it a go, you will need:
- Half a tin of canned spaghetti in tomato sauce
- Half a cup of cheddar cheese
- Four slices of bread
- Two tsps of butter
Method
This will yield two sandwiches.
Preheat your toasted sandwich maker, or melt some butter in a pan over a gentle heat.
Butter the slices of bread, then turn them so the butter faces outwards, and distribute your cheese and spaghetti evenly across two of the slices.
Position the remaining slices on top, making sure the butter is facing outwards. Either place the sandwiches into your toastie maker or into your pan.
If using a pan, toast them for approximately four minutes on each side, until the cheese has melted and the spaghetti is heated through. Once removed from the toastie machine or pan, leave the sandwiches to rest for a minute before slicing them in half and serving.
