Creamy mozzarella and lovely ripe tomatoes are great friends and always work brilliantly with a bit of beautiful basil thrown in. Try making your own pesto to make this one of the best toasties ever!

serves 1

Ingredients

• • 2 slices of freshly-cut bread
• • olive oil
• • pesto, for spreading
• • 1 ripe tomato
• • 75g fresh mozzarella or bocconcini
• • freshly ground black pepper

To make your toastie

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• Preheat a frying or griddle pan on a medium heat or turn your toasted sandwich maker on to heat up
• Lay out your slices of bread and drizzle one side of each slice with a little olive oil
• Flip both pieces of bread over and spread lightly with pesto (see Classic basil pesto), making sure you spread right to the edges

To make your toastie

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• Slice your tomato as finely as you can using a serrated knife and lay evenly over one slice of bread (on top of the pesto) so they cover it
• Slice the mozzarella or bocconcini and lay on top of the tomatoes
• Season lightly with pepper

To make your toastie

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• Top with the other slice of bread, oiled side facing up
• If using a pan, add the sandwich and press down with your fingers or a fish slice to compact it
• Toast for a couple of minutes, then lift the bread up with a fish slice to check it’s golden brown on the bottom

To make your toastie

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• When it’s looking good, flip over and cook for another couple of minutes until golden on both sides and the mozzarella is all gooey
• If using a toasted sandwich maker, add your sandwich, clamp the lid shut and toast until golden
• Transfer to a chopping board, cut in half and serve