Grilled Ham, Cheese and Apple Butter Sandwiches

The inspiration for our take on English street food comes from the iconic Camden Market, which is just one of London’s food markets that have hundreds of food stalls serving anything from Korean hot dogs, Hawaiian poke bowls and brisket bagels to Lebanese wraps, New York salt beef sandwiches and everything in between.

In South Africa, we all love a good braai broodjie which is a toasted sandwich but done on the braai. The smoke of the coals adds so much flavour to a generic grilled cheese. These grilled ham, cheese and apple butter sandwiches have a combination of flavours that just go so well together. Show these off to your friends and they’ll never want a plain braai broodjie again.

Apple butter

6 small apples (or pears), peeled, cored and chopped into chunks
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch salt

Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan and simmer for at least an hour. Watch carefully towards the end of the hour in case the sugar caramelises too quickly. Break up any chunky fruit with a stick blender. The consistency should be like thick jam.

For each sandwich

2 slices ciabatta bread or thick slices of country bread
Olive oil
Butter
2 slices Black Forest ham
White cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
1 – 2 tablespoons apple butter
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Make up the sandwiches by buttering two slices of bread. Smear mustard on the one slice, top with the ham and cheese, and smear the top slice of bread with apple butter. Brush the outside of the sandwiches with olive oil before placing on a medium grill to cook slowly so that the outside becomes crispy and the cheese is melted. Slice and serve.