In need of some veggie inspiration? You’ve come to the right place. If you’re vegetarian or regularly have veggie guests over, we understand how tricky it can be to make something that’s delicious but also on the table in under 20 minutes. So, together with Le Creuset we tried and tested these quick vegetarian recipes and we can confirm, they hit the spot. Washing up takes no time at all as all recipes use only one piece of cookware.
Bon appetit!
Grilled Cheese Toastie
Serves 2
What better combination than the ultimate cheese toastie with a Korean-inspired condiment. Kimchi is a staple of Korean food made from fermented vegetables and seasoned in a sauce of chilli, garlic and ginger. ‘Mak Kimchi’ translates to ‘carelessly’ or ‘roughly’ and for this recipe we have created a quick and easy version of this Korean staple. This is best made a day in advance.
Preparation time: 10 minutes (plus overnight)
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the Kimchi
1 Chinese cabbage
1 large carrot
6 – 8 radishes, dependent on size
2 garlic cloves
1 thumb of ginger
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons chilli sauce like sriracha
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 heaped tablespoon caster sugar
For the Grilled Cheese Sandwich
4 slices of crusty white bread
Butter, for spreading
100g strong mature Cheddar, grated
100g red Leicester, grated
Method
- To make the Mak Kimchi, roughly chop the cabbage into large chunks and place in a microwaveable bowl. Add 4 tablespoons water to the bowl and place in the microwave to steam for 2 – 4 minutes. You want the cabbage to be tender. Drain and leave to cool fully.
- In the meantime, grate the carrot, radishes, garlic and ginger into a large bowl. Add the cabbage when cooled. Pour in the fish and chilli sauce as well as the rice vinegar.
- Sprinkle over the caster sugar and thoroughly stir all the ingredients together. Press into a sterilised Kilner jar and leave at room temperature for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight to ferment. When fermented, place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Heat a Signature Cast Iron 30cm Rectangular Grill empty over a medium heat for five minutes to get it hot. Take your sliced bread and butter each slice on one side. In a plate, turn the slice butter side down and fill two slices with cheese. Place the remaining two slices of bread on top, butter side up – the buttered side of the bread will be in contact with the grill.
- Place the sandwich on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Once golden and perfect grill lines appear on the bread, flip and repeat on the other side.
- Serve alongside a good helping of the kimchi.
Cook’s Notes
Why not also serve with grilled corn on the cob marinated in Asian spices? Marinade the sweetcorn overnight alongside the kimchi and place on the grill with the cheese sandwich to grill.