A messy Sandwich with Roasted Shallots, Grilled Gruyère and Chutney
I'm in a mountain mood again, losing myself in thoughts of a warm wooden hut with an open fire place and wide snowy views. This calls for onions and cheese on my sandwich, or rather, tiny shallots roasted in their skin until they turn sweet, sticky and juicy, almost caramelised with aromatic gruyère, grilled until golden brown and bubbling. With these two pictures (and flavours) in my mind, I knew that I wouldn't need much else for today's messy sandwich.
I bought a crunchy sourdough bread, a rustic French loaf, strong enough to compete with the final addition to my hearty sandwich, homemade chutneys and marmalade. Our kitchen table was covered in jars with plum, rhubarb, red pepper and apple chutney, and in a moment of culinary cockiness, I decided to try it with some of my tangerine jam. I started by roasting the delicate onions for less than half an hour before I snipped the ends off and squeezed their juiciness onto the hot grilled cheese. One bite after the other, I tried all the different fruity spreads to come to the conclusion that the golden citrus fruits are interesting but quite a challenge for the taste buds and my plum chutney is the winner. Onions, gruyère and plums simply can't go wrong!
A Sandwich with Roasted Shallots, Grilled Gruyère and Chutney
For 3 sandwiches you need
rustic sourdough bread 3 or 6 slices (if you want a closed sandwich)
small shallots, in their skin, 9 - 12
gruyère, or another strong, hard mountain cheese, thinly sliced, 200g / 7 ounces
a fruity chutney, for the topping
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, for the topping
olive oil
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F (I used the Rotitherm setting).
Coat the shallots in a little olive oil and roast in the hot oven for 25 minutes or until soft, turn them after 15 minutes. They should feel soft when you push them down gently.
Spread the gruyère on the slices of bread and put them under the grill for 1 - 2 minutes until the cheese starts bubbling. Snip the ends off the onions and squeeze them onto the cheese. Sprinkle with chutney and pepper and enjoy!
