The classic ham and cheese toastie is one of the most common foods in Australia and I’m sure almost everyone you ask will have had one at some stage in their life. This wee, why not have a go at my Southern African take on this dish.

Most of us have a love of a good, toasted sandwich, and you only have to look at pretty much any café menu and you will find one on the list. But I can attest that there is a huge difference in how they are put together. There is a massive difference between a toastie and a toasted sandwich; for me, the cheese must be melted and pan fried. Not placed into a George Forman style grill that totally flattens the bread and destroys the integrity of this iconic dish.

Did you know? In 2004, there was a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich with a burn pattern looking like the Virgin Mary, made by a woman in the US. She started being interviewed by Leno, Letterman, the AP press and even the BBC, and a casino in Las Vegas eventually somewhat strangely paid $28,000 on eBay for it.

The toasted sandwich has been around for a long time. Some recipes for grilled cheese sandwiches have been around for centuries, with recipes even appearing in ancient Roman texts. The French started making their own ‘Croque monsieur’ in the early 1900s. A decadent toastie with béchamel on top and something I suggest you try at least once in your life.

In America, things really started cooking when James L. Kraft received a patent for his pasteurisation process of cheese which allowed it to be transported without spoiling. Soon after, Otto Frederick Rohwedder, in the 1920s in Missouri, invented the automatic bread slicer that produced even slices. This made mass production available and by the time World War Two came about, cooks on navy ships were able to prepare thousands of “American Cheese Filled Sandwiches" as instructed by government-issued cookbooks. These were mostly open-faced sandwiches topped with grated cheese.

Later on, in 1949, the cheese world was changed once again by Kraft who introduced single wrapped slices of processed cheese called “Kraft Singles”. Around the same time, people started adding the second piece of bread and the modern grilled cheese sandwich was born although they were not officially called that until the 1960s. I would not recommend using the Kraft-style of cheese for this recipe though; you can make your own pizza cheese instead with a simple mix of 1/3rd cup of grated tasty cheese, 1/3rd cup of grated mozzarella, 1/4 cup shaved parmesan all mixed together.

I prefer to buy my ham from the butcher, made on-site, with bone-in. This will guarantee that it will be Australian ham as it is illegal to import ham on the bone into Australia. If you are uncertain of the quality of the ham or have never tried it at your local butcher, a polite, “May I try a small taste of your ham to see if it is to my liking?” has always resulted in the butcher happily giving me a taste. As a child, when mum would take us to the butcher, he would always give us either a slice of devon, chicken roll, or a small frankfurter to nibble on and I’m sure they still do to this day.

My Shaka Zulu peri peri sauce is inspired by the Mozambique style of cooking, with lots of roasted capsicums with chilli and some fresh lemon for zing. This is not a super-hot sauce, as I like to focus on flavour as well as heat so I rate this as a medium spice sauce. You will be amazed at how incredibly well the roasted capsicum and chilli pair with the gooey cheese and smokey Australian ham.

CHEF DYLAN TIP: There are three things that make the perfect toastie:
Microwave the sandwich for approx. 30 seconds so that the cheese starts melting.

Cook each sandwich one by one in a small fry pan.
Heat on low so the bread toasts evenly.

SERVES 1
Prep time 5 mins
Cook time 5 mins

INGREDIENTS
- 2 slices thick-sliced bakery bread
- 85 grams of sliced ham off the bone
- 1/2 cup pizza cheese mix
- 1 tbs Shaka Zulu Peri Peri sauce*
- 1 tbs butter
- 1tsp oil

*Chef Dylan’s Gourmet Food Co. Shaka Zulu Peri Peri sauce

METHOD
1.      Butter the bread (optional).
2.      Add cheese and ham and drizzle on the Shaka Zulu sauce.
3.      Place small frypan on medium heat.
4.      On a plate, heat the sandwich for 30 seconds in the microwave.
5.      Turn the frypan down to low. Add 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp oil and melt.
6.      Place sandwich into pan and gently cook (1-2 mins depending on heat) Check the degree of toasted-ness with a spatula or tongs. Once toasted nicely, carefully flip over and toast the other side.
7.      When the other side is nicely toasted to a golden brown, gently remove the sandwich aboard. Let it rest for 2 minutes, as the cheese will be LAVA hot! Cut in half after the wait time is done.
8.      Serve with a pickle and a nice cold beer.