Swiss Grilled Cheese with Cornichon, Parsley Salad

London has been extremely gloomy, grey, wet (defo not hot) and that type of weather makes me crave comforting, rich flavours.

The first thoughts of raclette and fondue were running through my head. Usually reserved for the depths of winter (we all talk about beer jackets, but a molten cheese meal jacket works far better) - maybe because It’s Swiss national day and usually I’d be home watching the fireworks, but it also might be because I recently went to Paris (I promise this is actually the last time I speak about it) and I brought back the biggest jar of Maille cornichons I found.

Cornichons remind me of my last year of high school where my best friend and I became so obssesed with making grilled cheeses, we truly belived we would be owners of a food truck called Grilled Please by now. We’d sit down and chow down on the different grilled cheeses with at least 1 jar of briney, sour cornichons on the side as an accompaniment to cut through the richness.

I’m so happy for my body that I’m out of that phase now and live in a country where cheese is very expensive, because my arteries would be screaming. Anyways, this recipe is the product of all these memories.

Makes: 1

Ingredients

2 Slices of Bread (I love sourdough)

50g Raclette, in thin slices

20g Aged Gruyère, finely grated

15g Parsley, leaves picked, stems discarded

2 Spring Onions, Trimmed and finely sliced

2 Tsps Wholegrain Mustard

45g Cornichons, finely sliced

Olive oil, Black Pepper

Method

1. Place a frying pan onto medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add a slice of bread. Top with the Raclette slices and scatter over the Gruyère. Season with plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Place a lid on and cook until the bread turns golden and the cheese has mostly melted, 3-5 mins.

2. Once the bread is golden, place the other slice of bread on top, flip and cook until the other side is golden and the cheese has fully melted, 3-5 mins. If the cheese still hasn’t melted, turn the heat down, flip and continue cooking with the lid on.

3. Meanwhile, add the parsley leaves, spring onion, wholegrain mustard, cornichons and a drizzle of olive oil into a bowl, mix together.

4. Once golden on both sides, open the grilled cheese and stuff with the cornichon, parsley salad. Enjoy whilst still hot.