These elegant miniature cheese toasties from Woongchul Park are wrapped in gamtae, a laver seaweed similar to nori or gim, but with a distinctive, almost wool-like texture and a truffle-esque aroma.
Woongchul says: "Gamtae is an ingredient close to my heart, coming from the west sea of South Korea. It brings salty, slightly sharp coastal notes, with an after tone comparable to an earthy black truffle. It pairs excellently with the Duckett’s creamy richness and [this dish] stems from my love of British cheese."
Cut out 8 pieces of gamtae seaweed so they they are the same size as your slices of brioche. Cut out a further 24 long pieces of gamtae (width of half a piece of brioche, length of a whole piece). These will be used for wrapping your sandwiches at the end. Reserve the trimmings from the seaweed
Blend or finely chop the seaweed trimmings, and then fold them through some cultured butter until it is a uniform light green colour
Cut the cheese into slices the thickness as the slices of bread
Butter all of the slices of bread using the gamtae butter, and top each with a slice of bread-shaped seaweed
Add cheese to half the slices of bread, arranging them so that you have an even layer. Add the remaining seaweed-lined pieces of bread on top. Wrap in cling film and chill for 24 hours
The next day, cut the crusts off the sandwiches. Cut each sandwich into 6 smaller finger sandwiches
Preheat the oven to 180°C and cut out 24 long, thin pieces of gamtae for wrapping the sandwiches
Heat up a splash of oil in a pan, and once hot add the mini gamtae sandwiches. Brown lightly on both sides, then transfer the sandwiches to an oven tray
Bake in the oven for 1 minute 45 seconds, or until the cheese has melted and turned gooey. Wrap the warm sandwiches in the long pieces of gamtae
Serve the sandwiches while warm
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