This is one of my favourite comfort foods. I prefer it to grilled cheese sandwiches.
You do need a good quality cheese, though. I bought this Australian import from Whole Foods. It was a reasonable price as well, US$4.99 a pound.
American cheese, like Tillamook or whatever, will work. However it does NOT give the same result.
Really good Cheese On Toast, has a creamy, non-oily texture to it. The bog standard American cheese that you buy at the supermarket, doesn't give you that result. In my experience anyway.
There is no set amount for the cheese and onion. I made six pieces of toast, so I measured what I used, so I could give you an idea of what amounts you need to use. If you use large amounts of cheese, etc, you may need to use a bit more egg. You want enough egg to bind the mixture together, but not have it sloppy.
Cheese On Toast
Cheese ( I used 6 oz of Tasty Cheddar)
Finely chopped onion (I used 4 tbsp)
1 beaten egg. (you could also use eggbeaters)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
6 slices of medium toasted bread
Preheat broiler or toaster oven
Grate cheese into a bowl.
Mix in beaten egg, finely chopped onion to the cheese. Season with freshly ground pepper. Add some salt if you want, but I never do.
Evenly distribute tomato slices on toast. Divide the cheese mixture between the six slice. My mixture evened out to about a dessertspoon and a bit for every piece of toast.
Place cheese covered toast under broiler or in toaster oven. Cook until topping is melted, puffy and golden brown.
Serve while hot.
You can vary this recipe in many ways. Add in ideas include chopped peppers, chopped tomatoes, canned tuna and so on. I didn't put any spread on the toast before adding the cheese mixture, but you can spread mayo, mustard, * Vegemite, etc. You could also add a small amount of Worcestershire sauce to the cheese mixture, which would give you something that tastes similar to Welsh Rarebit.
Experiment with different types of bread as well. I used Whole Wheat. Small rounds of French bread topped with the cheese mixture, makes a nice savoury dish for a party.
I serve this with soup for a quick lunch or tea (dinner).
It also makes a nice breakfast with bacon and egg. :-)
* Vegemite - This link gives you an explanation as to what Vegemite is. The link only mentions Australia, however it should also include New Zealand as it is eaten there and is a bit of a national icon and part of Kiwi culture. It is definitely an acquired taste. If you happen to want to try some, then I would suggest you start off by spreading it thinly and tasting it with cheese on a cracker or something. it is good, once you get used to the taste :-)
