Borough Market's Kappacasein Four Cheese Toastie
A gift from the cheese gods*, and cheesemaker Bill Oglethorpe. Plus some interesting facts for those who read until the very end.
Borough Market is London’s oldest food market dating back to the 11th century. It offers some of the capital’s best and freshest produce as well as being home to a wonderful selection of restaurants and food stalls selling incredibly diverse and delicious cooked food.
Among those food stalls is Kappacasein, the one and only place to realise all your melted cheese dreams. Owner and cheesemaker Bill Oglethorpe has been making cheese and other dairy products since 2008 at Kappacasein HQ in Bermondsey, London. You can find their shop in Stoney Street, offering a selection of dishes heavy on the cheese including melted London Raclette over a pile of new potatoes, baby gherkins and pickled onions as well as the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.
The reason why I love Kappacasein’s take is of course the particular cheese blend they use. Perfect in every way, but it’s the simplicity of the ingredients that gets me every time. The cheese blend consists of Montgomery’s Cheddar, Ogleshield, London Raclette and Comté - but in a pinch, you could substitute London Raclette with Gruyère.
The ratios in the recipe below are not the ones used by Kappacasein, but why not take this opportunity to try and test your way into the perfect combination?
Kappacasein Four Cheese Toastie
Serves 2
Ingredients
50g Montgomery’s Cheddar
50g Ogleshield
50g London Raclette — or Gruyère
50g Comté
20g leeks, washed and sliced — can be substituted with red onion
4 slices of good quality sourdough bread
20g unsalted butter, divided into four equal chunks
Method
Grate all the cheeses together in a bowl — you can do this with the help of a cheesegrater or with a food processor and its grating attachment — mix the grated cheese gently with your hands.
Get a cast iron griddle or skillet preheating over medium-low heat while you prep the sandwiches. Cast iron pans have excellent heat-retaining qualities which is why there’s no need to crank up the heat to high.
Place two sourdough slices on a cutting board and divide the leek slices between the two. Place a handful of the grated cheese blend on top of the leeks, pile it up high and press so it compresses down. Repeat once again to make the second sandwich.
Close the sandwiches with the remaining two slices pressing down, then set aside.
Add one chunk of butter to the pan and allow it to melt before adding one of the sandwiches on top. Press the sandwich lightly with the tip of your fingers and gently move it around the pan without lifting it, this ensures the whole slice is coated in the melted butter.
Grill for 2-3 minutes before picking up the sandwich with a spatula, throwing in another chunk of butter and flipping it over with conviction. Slide it around the pan once again to ensure the whole slice is buttered and grill for another 2-3 minutes. If it looks like the bread is toasting faster than the cheese is melting, lower the heat. If the cheese seems to be melting too slowly, increase the heat.
Repeat the above with the remaining sandwich and serve while still hot hot hot!
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*N.B. (1), I’ve recently been down the deepest rabbit hole concerning Greek gods (and their Roman counterparts), the different calendars in use (there are five in use today** and it’s the year 4720 according to the Chinese calendar), how they came to be (religion always being the culprit), the history of time (check out ChronoZoom if you’re in dire need of a quick existential crisis) and the generic use of BC/AD BCE/CE (I have no words on these). All of this is to say that there is in fact a God of Cheese in Greek mythology. “Aristaeus (Aristaios) - Greek God of Cheesemaking, Beekeeping & Olive-Growing.”1 Coincidentally, ingredients that go very well together.
** N.B. (2), “Britain finally adopted the new calendar [Julian to Gregorian] in 1752 – and also switched the start of the new year from 25 March to 1 January. By that time the difference between the two calendars was 11 days. To solve the problem, in that year, 2 September was followed by 14 September.”2 😭🤣
The history of the calendar - HistoryExtra.com