By Wendy Hays

VERY FEW of the recipes I will be sharing with you can genuinely be called my own, but this one is the exception.

That said, it was inspired by the Cheese Devils recipe found in Miss Irvine’s ‘Central’ Cookery Book which was the main text used in Home Arts classes in Tasmanian high schools for several decades.

I’m sure many readers will have a well-thumbed, ingredient stained copy of this book tucked away in their kitchen drawers

As this recipe was a mainstay for many functions whilst I was teaching Catering, it does make a large quantity.

Halve the recipe if you like but it freezes well both cooked and unbaked.

The secret for success is to really pile on the topping and spread it right to the edges.

You can, use thick slices of bread, English muffins or bread rolls for a substantial soup accompaniment, snack, meal in itself or French stick cut crosswise for daintier finger food. Whatever you choose for your base, it is sure to be popular.

Ingredients

1 loaf of unsliced bread or 1 loaf of thick sliced bread

100 g butter – soften in the microwave on medium for 30 seconds

2 eggs, beaten in a mug

4 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and grated

5 rashers of bacon or ham, remove rind, any gristle and chop finely

1/4 tsp minced chilli

1/4 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs soy sauce

6 cups tasty cheese, grated

1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1 Cut bread into 16 thick slices or use thick sliced bread.

2 Spread butter right to the edges of the bread.

3 Mix all the topping ingredients together in a bowl.

4 Place slices of bread onto oven trays.

5 Pile the topping onto the bread and spread to a thick layer.

6 Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes or freeze, covered tightly with cling wrap, for later use. Make sure to move the trays around the oven to allow for even browning.

7 Cut slices in half and serve hot or cold.