HAM & CHEESE FRENCH TOASTIE ROLL UPS
PREP TIME
10 mins
COOK TIME
5 mins
TOTAL TIME
15 mins
French toast you can eat with your fingers and taste just like ham and cheese toasties! This would also be great made with bacon or smoked salmon instead of ham.
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch
Serves: 2 - 3
INGREDIENTS
- 6 slices fresh sandwich bread (I used white, but you could use wholemeal, wholegrain etc) (see notes)
- 3 slices of melting cheese, each cut into 4 strips (I used Jarlsberg. Tasty, cheddar, gruyere and mozzarella are also great), or ¾ cup grated melting cheese (see notes)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 egg (large)
- 2 tbsp milk (full cream or low fat)
- 2 small slices of ham (around 50g / 1.5 oz)
- Pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Optional - cut the crusts off the bread.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten the bread.
- Divide the ham between the bread and lay it out in a strip about 1cm / ⅓" wide along the bottom edge of the bread. Cut to fit neatly if necessary - that's what I did.
- Top each with 2 slices of cheese, or scatter grated cheese along the ham.
- Starting from the bottom, roll the bread up and finish with the seam side down.
- Place the egg, milk and salt in a flat dish and use a fork to whisk.
- Heat butter in a large fry pan over medium high heat.
- Dip the roll ups in the egg, rolling to coat all over. Then place in the fry pan. Place all roll ups in the same pan.
- Cook the roll ups for 45 seconds to 1 minute, then turn 90 degrees. Repeat again 2 more times (so 4 sides of each roll up is browned).
- Remove from pan and serve immediately.
NOTES
1. You must use fresh bread for this recipe, not stale bread (which I normally preach for french toast recipes). The reason is that fresh bread compresses better when you flatten it with a rolling pin (stale bread springs back) and also sticks to itself a bit when you roll it up, sealing the roll perfectly.
2. You can use any cheese you want for these, so long as it is a good melting cheese. I used Jarlsberg slices because that is what I had. Make sure each slice is roughly the size of the bread so when you cut the cheese into sticks, it will fill the width of the bread.
You can use cheese sticks if you want, but I recommend cutting them in half lengthwise otherwise, I feel there is too much cheese for the amount of bread there is. Then cut them to length to the width of the bread before placing on it and rolling it up.
You can also just use grated cheese. Just scatter a pinch along the length of the bread.
3. You can make these the night before (I haven't tried any longer than 12 to 15 hours ahead). To make these ahead, roll up the french toast, then dip them VERY quickly in the egg mixture and shake the excess off. Then place them seam side down in a container or baking dish (you can stack them) so they fit snugly. Save the egg mixture.
When you are ready to cook, preferably bring them to room temperature. Quickly dip the roll ups in the egg mixture again before cooking. There should be enough egg mixture because you just dip them in very quickly, as opposed to soaking them.
The purpose of the first dip is to keep the bread moist and to ensure they stay rolled up. I found that sometimes (depending on the bread) the roll ups unrolled and dried out a bit. So a quick dip in the egg solved this.
4. Save the bread crusts! Here are two ideas for some nibbles you can make with them: Parmesan Thyme Bread Crust Treats and Cinnamon Sugar Bread Crust Treats
2. You can use any cheese you want for these, so long as it is a good melting cheese. I used Jarlsberg slices because that is what I had. Make sure each slice is roughly the size of the bread so when you cut the cheese into sticks, it will fill the width of the bread.
You can use cheese sticks if you want, but I recommend cutting them in half lengthwise otherwise, I feel there is too much cheese for the amount of bread there is. Then cut them to length to the width of the bread before placing on it and rolling it up.
You can also just use grated cheese. Just scatter a pinch along the length of the bread.
3. You can make these the night before (I haven't tried any longer than 12 to 15 hours ahead). To make these ahead, roll up the french toast, then dip them VERY quickly in the egg mixture and shake the excess off. Then place them seam side down in a container or baking dish (you can stack them) so they fit snugly. Save the egg mixture.
When you are ready to cook, preferably bring them to room temperature. Quickly dip the roll ups in the egg mixture again before cooking. There should be enough egg mixture because you just dip them in very quickly, as opposed to soaking them.
The purpose of the first dip is to keep the bread moist and to ensure they stay rolled up. I found that sometimes (depending on the bread) the roll ups unrolled and dried out a bit. So a quick dip in the egg solved this.
4. Save the bread crusts! Here are two ideas for some nibbles you can make with them: Parmesan Thyme Bread Crust Treats and Cinnamon Sugar Bread Crust Treats
