Mozzarella and pesto toasties
- Published: 2 Sep 21
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
The ultimate toasted sandwich, oozing with mozzarella and pesto and topped with crispy shards of parma ham. It’s a proper lazy Saturday lunch.
- Makes 4
- Hands-on time 15 min, oven time 5 min
Ingredients
- 50g butter, softened
- 8 crusty white bread slices
- 125g ball mozzarella, sliced
- 125g hard (cooking) mozzarella, grated
- 10 parma ham slices
- Sunflower oil for frying
- 2 medium free-range eggs
- 1 tbsp milk
For the pesto
- Large bunch fresh basil leaves
- 30g toasted pine nuts
- 50g parmesan, cut into small pieces
- 3 glugs olive oil
- Juice ½ lemon
Method
- To make the pesto, whizz all the pesto ingredients in a food processor (or use a mini chopper or a pestle and mortar) and season to taste.
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Butter each slice of bread on one side, then put 4 slices on a board, butter-side down. Spread each with a thin layer of pesto, then top each with the mozzarella slices, grated mozzarella and parma ham (2 slices on each). Top with the remaining bread slices, butter-side up, pressing into a sandwich.
- Heat enough oil to cover the base of a large frying pan (or use a griddle pan). In a wide shallow bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk. Carefully dip the sandwiches into the beaten egg, turning to coat both sides. Fry one sandwich at a time for 1 minute on each side until golden and the cheese has started to melt. Put each fried sandwich on a baking sheet while you fry the remaining sandwiches.
- Bake in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is oozing from between the bread. Add the remaining slices of parma ham to the same pan and fry for 3-4 minutes on a high heat until crisp. Serve the toasties with the remaining pesto, topped with shards of crispy ham.
- Recipe from October 2017 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 866kcals
- Fat
- 56g (22.5g saturated)
- Protein
- 38.2g
- Carbohydrates
- 50.8g (3.4g sugars)
- Fibre
- 3g
- Salt
- 3.4g
delicious. tips
The pesto is best fresh but can be made up to 72 hours in advance. Make sure it’s covered by a thin layer of olive oil and keep in a sealed container in the fridge. Use leftovers for pasta or with meat/fish.
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