Skip to content
Open menu Close menu

Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors

Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors

Christmas French Toastie

Christmas French Toastie

A toastie best enjoyed after Christmas to use up any leftovers; or make it at any time for a satisfying lunch brimming with festive flavours.
Makes 2
Easy

From the book

Amy Sheppard

Introduction from Amy Sheppard

I actually think Christmas Day or Thanksgiving leftovers are better than the main meal! You get to eat the same amazing food again, with none of the pressure! You don’t have to wait until the holidays to eat this toastie, but it does use a lot of festive ingredients. Ruby onions are one of my favourite sides – my advice would be to have them on your roast and use the leftovers in this grilled sandwich the next day!

Ingredients

4 slices of smoked ham
4 slices of thick white bread
150g (5½oz) stilton, thinly sliced or crumbled
2 eggs, beaten
50ml (1¾fl oz) milk
butter, for frying
For the ruby onions (enough for 4–6 people as a side):
50g (1¾oz) butter
2 red onions, finely sliced
400g (14oz) red cabbage, finely shredded
4 Tbsp cranberry sauce, plus extra to serve
2 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper

Method

1

First make the ruby onions. Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan (skillet). Add the red onions and cabbage and fry over a medium-high heat for 10 minutes until softened. Stir in the cranberry sauce, honey, mustard and salt and pepper. Stir over the heat for 1 minute and set aside.

2

Meanwhile, start to make the sandwiches. Place 2 slices of the ham on a slice of bread and top with some thinly sliced or crumbled stilton.

3

Add 2 heaped dessertspoons of the ruby onions and spread it evenly over the cheese. Place another slice of bread on top and press it down. Repeat to make a second sandwich.

4

Choose a bowl wide enough to fit the sandwich in and use it to beat the eggs and milk together with a little salt and pepper until smooth.

5

Melt a knob of butter in another non-stick frying pan. Dip one side of the sandwich in the egg mixture, then turn it over and dip the other side.

6

Turn the heat to medium-low and place the first sandwich straight into the pan. Fry for 2 minutes on each side until the bread is golden brown and the stilton is starting to melt.

7

Add another knob of butter to the pan before dipping then frying the second sandwich in the same way.

8

Serve with a dollop of cranberry sauce and maybe some festive picky bits!

Tips and Swaps

If you’re not a fan of stilton, just use cheddar or any Christmas cheese that you might have!

You can cook this in the air fryer rather than frying it. Just air fry at 200°C/400°Ffor 4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.

There are lots of lovely Christmas bits that would work well in this toastie: fried bacon, sautéed Brussels sprouts, sage and onion stuffing, roasted vegetables like carrots –and, of course, turkey!

Reviews

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Our team will respond to any queries as soon as we can - this may take longer over weekends. You do not need to resubmit your comment.

Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.

There are no comments yet

Be the first to leave a review

newsletter

Subscribe to The Happy Foodie email newsletter

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week