The ultimate grilled cheese sandwich recipe

1. Combine the Cheddar and Red Leicester cheeses in a bowl and set about a quarter of the mixture aside. Add all the grated mozzarella to the remaining cheeses in the bowl, along with a seasoning of black pepper, and toss to combine.
2. Butter one side of each bread slice and lay the slices buttered-sides down. Divide the cheese mixture between two of the slices and top each with a second slice of buttered bread. All the buttered sides should face outwards. Put a large frying pan over a low-medium heat. If the pan isn’t big enough to hold both sandwiches comfortably, cook them one after another.
3. Lay the sandwiches (or single sandwich, if cooking in batches) in the pan and cover with a square of nonstick baking paper and a heavy weight such as a small frying pan or round baking dish.
4. Cook the sandwiches for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, occasionally checking that the bread isn’t over-browning. It needs to cook very slowly to melt the cheese and should only be a pale golden colour so adjust the heat if needed. Once the bread is crisp, remove the paper and weight and flip the sandwiches over. Again, replace the paper and weight and cook slowly for 2-3 minutes, until pale golden and crisp.
5. Increase the heat slightly. Remove the sandwiches from the pan and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the frying pan surface in two circles, each a little larger than the sandwiches themselves. Lay the sandwiches on top immediately so that the melting cheese sticks to them. Now cook for about 1 minute, until the cheese begins to sizzle, darken slightly and turn ‘lacy’. Use a spatula to lift each sandwich out of the pan, allowing their cheese ‘frills’ to droop down as the cheese cools and crisps up. Transfer to a board, slice in half and eat with ketchup, brown sauce or chutney.

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