Ham & Cheese Garlic Bread
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Serves: 8-12
- 1 loaf bread, unsliced
- 100g/3.5ozs salted butter, melted
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- 100g/3.5ozs ajvar or tomato pesto
- 1 tablespoon chilli oil (I used Lulu's Remedy) plus 1 tablespoon extra for drizzling
- 400g/14ozs sliced ham
- 250g/8.8ozs cheese, sliced (tasty, cheddar or Swiss)
- 100g/3.5ozs mozzarella, grated
- 30g/1oz parmesan cheese, grated
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place two chopsticks on each side of the bread to prevent cutting all the way through and with a bread knife, slice the bread into regular sized slices (I got around 15 slices in my loaf). Place the bread on a large oiled sheet of foil (large enough to wrap the whole thing up).
Step 2 - Mix the butter, garlic powder and chives together and then brush within each cut on both sides generously and then brushing on top of the loaf. Mix the ajvar or tomato pesto with the chilli oil and repeat. Then I add the ham and cheese in each crack. Don't worry if your bread breaks in half, that can happen if the ham is quite thickly sliced. You can put it together in the end. Place a piece of parchment on top of the bread and then scrunch up the foil and cover tightly. Bake for 20 minutes.
Step 3 - Open up the foil and remove the parchment and add the mozzarella and parmesan on top. Increase heat to 190C/374F. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Drizzle with a little extra chilli oil and serve.