Tag: mustard seeds

Bacon, Tomato, Comté, Cheddar, Spring Onion and Pickled Mustard Seeds Toasted Sandwich

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Already two late-night toasties down over the Christmas holidays, we decided to toast a third, closer to the classic “ham, tomato, cheese”.

However this recipe – from the excellent Chefs Eat Toasties Too – completely dials up the classic in a number of important ways.

Firstly, bacon.

🐖

Which, with all due respect to ham, is a clear checkmate move.

Then, there is the Comté (We substituted Gruyère) AND the cheddar.

Another checkmate, especially with the thinly sliced spring onions.

The real cracker however are the pickled mustard seeds which take the sandwich to restaurant-level.

You will forever look down on the ho-hum ham, tomato, cheese after toasting this late-night toastie.

Ingredients

8 slices white sandwich loaf
140gm unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp hot English mustard
12 cold-smoked bacon rashes, cooked
4 small ripe truss tomatoes, thinly sliced
Salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
160gm Comté (Gruyère), grated
100gm cheddar, grated
2 spring onions, white part only, thinly sliced

For the pickled mustard seeds

100gm yellow mustard seeds
50gm caster sugar
2 tsp salt flaked
150ml Chardonnay vinegar (we used white wine vinegar)

Method

For the pickled mustard seeds

  1. Place the mustard seeds in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat. Drain the seeds and discard the water. Refresh the seeds in cold water and return to the saucepan. Repeat the previous step three times and reserved the blanched seeds in a bowl or jug.
  2. Heat 75ml of water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the salt and stir until dissolved. Stir in the vinegar then strain the pickling liquid over the seeds. Place in the refrigerator, covered, for a minimum of 1 hour.
  3. The seeds will last for 2 months.

For the sandwich

  1. Butter four slices of bread and scrape a thin layer of English mustard on each slice. Place three rashes of bacon on each and add tomato slices on top and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Combine the grated cheeses in a bowl with the spring onion and evenly distribute this mixture on top of the tomato.
  3. Spread butter on the remaining slices of bread and spread the pickled mustard seeds on the other side. Close the sandwich with the buttered side of the bread on the outer.
  4. Toasted in a sandwich press, buttered sides on the hot grill, until golden brown and crispy.

Southern Indian Lobster Curry

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

This Christmas has been a decidedly Lobster affair.

Lobster Thermidor. Lobster with a basil mayonnaise.

And this wonderful curry from – Gourmet Traveller – where the lobster does all the talking.

It’s a classic, light, seafood curry with the genius of fried mustard seeds and a just a hint of heat.

Add a beer or a cold glass of wine and this is an amazing, post-Christmas dinner where the ham and turkey is a thing of the past.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
3 dried long red chillies
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
3 garlic gloves, finely chopped
36 fresh curry leaves
3 tsp ground turmeric
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
375ml coconut cream
50gm tamarind
750gm lobster meat cut into 5cm pieces
Basmati rice, coriander leaves and lime wedges to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over a low heat, add the mustard seeds and sauté until they pop (20 – 30 seconds). Add the chillies and fenugreek seeds and sauté until the chillies turn brown (20 – 30 seconds).
  2. Increase the heat to medium, add the onions and sauté until softened. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute or two until aromatic. Add the curry leaves and turmeric and cook for a further 30 seconds and then add the tomato and cook until soft. Stir in the coconut cream and tamarind and warm, season with salt.
  3. Add the lobster meat and slowly simmer for 15 minutes until cooked through.
  4. Serve with basmati rice, coriander leaves and lime wedges.