Make a donation and raise a toastie for Rare Diseases Ireland on 28 February
Rare Diseases Ireland is encouraging people all over the country to ‘raise a toastie’ to raise awareness and funds on Rare Disease Day.
It is estimated that 300,000 people in Ireland live with a rare condition in Ireland, and this global awareness day helps to amplify their voices. There are 7,000 known rare diseases, some of which have no treatment.
Getting involved is simple. Create your dream toastie at home, share a picture on social media using the hashtags #RaiseAToastie #RareDiseaseDay and donate online at rdi.ie/donate.
Here, get some top tips on creating the perfect toastie from leading Irish chef Paul Flynn. He will be sharing a video demo on the Rare Diseases Ireland social channels on Rare Disease Day.
Paul Flynn’s favourite grilled cheese sandwich
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 4 slices of good wheaten bread ( for depth of flavour )
- A good spreading of soft butter
- 2 generous smears of English mustard
- 250g Mature cheddar cheese, grated
- A few slices of tinned peach
- A few drops of smoked chipotle sauce ( optional )
Top tips:
- This is all about the method. I assemble the sandwich in a non-stick frying pan, there’s less mess.
- A grilled cheese sandwich is all about gooey generosity so don’t stint on the cheese. A little tip, grate your own cheese as the pre-grated has a light wax coating that stops it from getting really gooey . Sometimes I even add some easi-singles for extra gooeyness
- You will have to do these in two batches.
- Have everything ready before you start and remember we are buttering the outside not the inside of the bread.
Method:
- Butter the bread generously then put a non-stick pan over a low heat buttered side down.
- Put the buttered side of the bread in the pan then smear the mustard on top followed by some of the cheese, the peaches, more cheese then a few drops of smoked chipotle sauce.
- Put the other slice of bread on top buttered side out.
- Cook for 3 or so minutes until golden and crunchy, turn over and cook on the other side for 2 more minutes .
- Cut and serve immediately then repeat for the other sandwich.
- To pimp it up and make it extra special, put some crushed avocado on top and drape a slice of parma ham over the top. Then you have yourself a fancy brunch.