LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2023

Mandarin Toastie

Look for seedless honey man darins for this bangin’ sandwich. The fruit is pulled in a savoury direction by combining it with red onion in a salsa-like relish that gets piled into the sandwich alongside really good cheese. The bread is slathered with a hazelnut-thyme butter before hitting the pan and the result is pretty fine, if I do say so myself. Use the side of your biggest knife to smash the hazelnuts before chopping—it makes easy work of it. 2 mandarins, preferably honey mandarins 1/4 cup (60 mL) finely sliced red onion 1 tsp (5 mL) honey Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup (125 mL) salted butter (1 stick) 3 tbsp (45 mL) finely chopped skinned hazelnuts 2 tsp (10 mL) chopped thyme 4 slices sourdough, 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick 4 oz (115 g) coarsely grated Comte or Gruyère cheese 1. Peel the mandarins and sep arate into segments. Cut all but two segments in half crosswise and add to a small bowl along with onion and honey. Squeeze the juice from the remaining two segments overtop and discard skin. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine; set aside. 2. In a separate small bowl, mash together butter, hazelnuts and thyme.

WHAT TO SERVE Creemore Springs Premium Lager LCBO 666917, 473 mL, $3.50

3. Divide the mandarin mixture between two pieces of bread. Do the same with the cheese. Gen erously butter one side of each of the remaining slices and place overtop cheese, butter side up. 4. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Place sand wiches butter side down and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until deeply

golden. While they’re cook ing, generously butter the other side of the sandwich (you might not need all of the butter mixture, depending on the size of your bread slices). Flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serves 2

Creemore’s flagship lager ex- presses sweet malt, hops, bread and caramel notes. It finds har- mony with familiar flavours in the sandwich, creating a synergy that will elevate your dining experience.

FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY 2023 171