Ingredients

• A good salt
• A good pepper
  • Note: it can be pretty neat to look into peppercorns. I’m currently using Malabar Peppercorn, which is a variety cultivated in Kerala (o.k.a¹ Malabar), India.
• Sourdough bread, old or not

• Two cheeses:
  • 1. Pecorino romano
  • 2. Parmesano reggiano

¹O.k.a = once known as

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Directions

This can also be done in the oven, but I prefer the cast iron because it’s easier to flip the bread and add on yummies as you go, and doesn’t compromise quality.

Grab your bread, however much you wanna eat and can fit in the pan at once. If working at high heat, there’s the potential to have a faster rotation, toasting bread, removing, and adding new bread, just make sure to keep the pan greased with butter (or oil) between toasting.

The first step is to cut the bread long ways, into strips, like those cheesebreads from those pizza places we all went to as kids. Okay sick. Oop, you shoulda turned on the pan already to like a solid medium heat for a few minutes. Sorry. Lather up the pan with butter or coconut oil, but not too much is necessary. Either an oil or butter will work, depending on your taste. Butter is always going to make things delicious.

Once the pan is getting hot (but not all the way there yet!) add the bread to the pan. I like for the bread to get toasty alongside the pan, but not idle on the pan too long cold before the pan is hot, either. When you place on the pan, drag the bread around so that they can pick up the butter on both sides. Let them sit for a while.

Grab the cheeses. Do a thing. If you have wine, maybe get some wine. If it’s morning, maybe another tea?

Check on the bread after a bit, depending on how high you have your heat source, to be honest. If i’m not in a rush, i cook at low to medium heat. It allows me to do other things in between cooking, which I like.

Once the bread is getting golden on that first side, flip the bread. It should have some butter already from the initial flip and grease. Let it bake on that side for a bit, but not as long as the first time.

Once the second side begins to brown, flip again and grate cheese immediately. You can do this on the spot for the ~drama~ or prep ahead and have grated cheese at the ready. Grate tons of cheese on them, maybe throw on a little olive oil and initial spices, like salt and pepper, but not a lot. Just a little for it to all start to combine early on. We’ll add in more later. If any of the grated cheese falls on the pan and not the bread, never fear! Actually, that’s great! Gather that fallen cheese with the sides of the bread once it starts to melt. That’ll give a nice final crust.

From here, it comes down to preference. I choose to add cheese to both sides, so lower the heat a bit and flip the side with the cheese on it to be face down, and then grate more cheese on the side that’s empty. The cheese will sizzle underneath and begin to brown, but we don’t want it to burn. You’ll need to move quickly here, let it brown a little, and then flip again so the other side can brown a bit.

Once both sides are cheese and browned, you can top with even more grated cheese, and add final spices of salt and pepper. It doesn’t matter too much which side you end up presenting face up – I typically choose whichever looks the most appealing. That’s it! Both sides should be toasted to your preference, with cheese melted into the bread on both sides, and spices fused together.

Serve as a late night snack, with a salad, or as an appetizer. If they get super toasted, they can even become croutons.

Picture forthcoming.