Few things unite us quite like a good sandwich. Whether it’s a crisp toastie eaten over the sink, a croque oozing with cheese and béchamel, or a towering Reuben (vegan or otherwise) that defies gravity – the sandwich is Britain’s most democratic dish.

It can be refined or filthy, nostalgic or new, grabbed in a hurry or crafted with cheffy precision. And with National Sandwich Day (3 November 2025), what better excuse to celebrate it in all its glorious, handheld forms?

This lineup brings together the best of the bunch: from Max Halley’s unapologetically indulgent creations – including a coronation fried chicken sarnie that’s as chaotic as it is brilliant – to Gordon Ramsay’s tuna katsu sandwich, an East-meets-West mash-up that makes a strong case for deep-frying your lunch.

Jay Rayner’s ultimate cheese toastie gives pub classic energy, Marcus Wareing’s croque madame goes full French bistro, while Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s hot fish sandwich with satay nut butter proves that even the wholesome can be wildly satisfying.

There’s spiced hybrid brilliance from Gurdeep Loyal’s Stilton and tamarind Mumbai toastie, homemade chapatti sandwiches from Chetna Makan, and even a nostalgic twist courtesy of Nisha Katona’s Indian fish finger sandwich, inspired by her mother’s handbag hacks at McDonald’s.

So, however you slice it – grilled, buttered, battered or stuffed between croissants – this is your ultimate guide to the best sandwiches worth celebrating this National Sandwich Day.

Tuna melt toastie

Max Halley turns the humble tuna melt into a crisp, golden pocket of joy – mayo on the outside, of course (Robert Billington)

“The idea for this hot little pocket of heaven came to me while eating an allegedly great tuna melt in Elephant and Castle. While eating it, I thought to myself, ‘God, I wish this was a toastie and not all floppy’,” sandwich expert Max Halley remembers.

And so the tuna melt toastie was born – and Halley says this recipe makes a bit too much filling, giving you the perfect excuse to make another sandwich afterwards.

Makes: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

1 not-posh tin of tuna (unless you fancy one), in water or oil, emptied into one side of a large sieve and drained in the sink for at least 10 minutes

¼ onion, cut into tiny chunks, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained in the sieve

5-6 pickled jalapeño slices, cut into little chunks, drained in the sieve

½ big gherkin, grated and put in another bit of that sieve

1 heaped tsp tinned sweetcorn (full sugar), drained in the sieve

¼ celery stalk, cut lengthways into 3-4 pieces, then into little chunks

Splash of malt vinegar

4 tbsp Hellmann’s mayo

3 tbsp your best extra virgin olive oil

2 slices of Hovis-type, supermarket white bread

75g grated supermarket mozzarella

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Put the drained tuna in a bowl with the onion, jalapeños, grated gherkin, sweetcorn, celery, malt vinegar, a big pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper and 3 tablespoons of the mayo. Mix everything together with a fork and, once combined, a tablespoon at a time, mix your tastiest olive oil into the tuna mix. Be sure to completely combine each spoonful of oil before adding the next, or Kenji López-Alt (whose little trick this is) will be very cross indeed, I should imagine.

2. Spread the remaining tablespoon of mayo on one side of both the slices of bread and put one of them mayo-side down on the work surface in front of you. Sprinkle half the mozzarella on it. Put some tuna mix on top of that and spread it evenly all over the sandwich, leaving a little gap round the edges. If you can, echo the shape of the toastie’s pockets, with less in the middle, if you know what I mean, but no worries if you don’t.

3. Put the rest of the cheese on top and put the other piece of bread on, mayo’d side up. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, mayo works better on the outside of toasties than butter. It’s made of oil and egg, making it brown beautifully, crisp well and taste fantastic. Using a spatula, or your hands, put the sandwich in the machine, shut the lid and wait until it’s hot as hell and a delectable colour.

‘Max’s World Of Sandwiches’ by Max Halley and Benjamin Benton (Hardie Grant Books, £25).

Tuna katsu sandwich with ginger and apple slaw

Gordon Ramsay’s East-meets-West upgrade to the classic tuna sandwich, complete with homemade tonkatsu sauce (Jamie Orlando-Smith)

“I know this isn’t a traditional katsu, but when it tastes this good, are you really going to complain?” says Gordon Ramsay. “While you’re at it, make double of the tonkatsu sauce. It’s the Japanese equivalent of brown or steak sauce – sweet and tangy – and it goes brilliantly with burgers, pulled pork and bacon sandwiches, as well as the Japanese classic, pork tonkatsu. It will keep for at least a week if stored in the fridge in a sealed container.”

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for frying

2 tbsp (heaped) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 egg

60g panko breadcrumbs

Dash of milk

2 x 170g (5oz) thick tuna steaks

180g (6oz) white cabbage

60g (2oz) pickled ginger, plus a splash of the pickling liquid

4 thick slices of white bloomer loaf, crusts removed

Freshly ground black pepper

For the tonkatsu sauce:

125ml tomato ketchup

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp mirin

1 garlic clove, peeled

Pinch of chilli flakes

To serve:

½ green apple (optional)

1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds or untoasted black sesame seeds (optional)

1 lime, cut into wedges

Method:

1. Place a heavy-based frying pan (skillet) over a high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of oil.

2. Put the flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs into three separate bowls. Season the flour with black pepper. Add a little milk to the egg and beat with a fork.

3. Dip each tuna steak in the flour, making sure it is well coated. Shake off any excess, then dip it in the egg followed by the breadcrumbs.

4. Place the steaks in the hot oil and cook for one minute on each side.

5. Meanwhile, finely slice the cabbage with a mandoline or the blade side of a box grater and combine in a bowl with the pickled ginger and pickling juice.

6. Make the tonkatsu sauce by combining the ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and mirin in a bowl. Grate in the garlic, add the chilli flakes and stir well.

7. To assemble each sandwich, spread the tonkatsu sauce on two slices of bread and top one of them with the cabbage slaw. Place the tuna steak on the slaw and sit the other slice of bread on top.

8. Finely slice the apple (if using) using a mandoline or sharp knife, then sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).

9. Cut each sandwich in half and serve with the apple salad, lime wedges and any leftover tonkatsu sauce on the side.

‘Ramsay In 10’ by Gordon Ramsay (Hodder & Stoughton, £25).

Ultimate cheese toastie

Jay Rayner’s triple-cheese toastie takes comfort food to Michelin-level indulgence (Will Carne)

Jay Rayner drew inspiration from a Michel Roux dish for this recipe – the XXL stovetop three-cheese and mustard toastie at the Wigmore Pub in London.

The Observer restaurant critic described Roux’s creation as “a beautifully engineered, lusciously executed, burnished and bronzed tribute to the carnal love affair between toast and cheese”, when he reviewed the pub in 2021.

It’ll set you back £13.50 at the London establishment, or you could try Rayner’s version at home.

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

160g Raclette cheese (substitute with Emmental, Appenzeller, Fontina or Gruyère)

80g Montgomery Cheddar (it does not have to be Montgomery, unless you are keen to match the Wigmore kitchen product for product; useany strong mature Cheddar)

80g Ogleshield cheese (substitute with Taleggio or Fontina)

20g finely chopped red onion

30g finely chopped cornichon

Dijon mustard

4 slices of sourdough bread

Salted butter (the Wigmore uses clarified butter, but I rather like the caramelisation you get from the dairy solids; you could always use vegetable oil)

Method:

1. Grate the cheese, and mix thoroughly in a bowl with the finely chopped red onion and cornichon.

2. Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on one internal side of each sandwich.

3. Layer generously with the grated cheese mix, and press down with the second slice of bread. Hilariously, I now appear to be explaining how to use two pieces of bread to make a sandwich..

4. Heat a non-stick or, better still, a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan over a medium heat and add a good knob of the butter. As it melts swirl it around to cover the base of the frying pan. Add the first sandwich and cook over a medium heat for about 4 minutes.

5. Press it down forcefully into the butter with a spatula every now and then. (The Wigmore uses a sandwich press.)

6. After 4 minutes, carefully turn it over on to the other side. The cheese will have started to melt, bonding it all together. Add another knob of butter, and lift the toastie it has now become so you can swirl the newly molten butter in underneath. Cook for another 4 minutes, again pressing it down occasionally.

7. Put on a plate or board and leave to cool for a couple of minutes, as you start to cook the second. At the Wigmore they cut it into 4cm wide slices, which does make it easier to eat.

‘Nights Out At Home’ by Jay Rayner (Penguin, £22).

Coronation fried chicken sandwich

A riot of crunch, curry and chaos – Max Halley’s coronation chicken sandwich is pure flavour mayhem (Robert Billington)

Sandwich expert Max Halley thanks chef Carl Clarke for contributing the fried chicken element of this dish.

“Much as I’d like to palm the chicken element of this sandwich off as my own, I can’t, because it’s not mine, it’s Carl’s and it’s THE BEST,” he says.

“If you want to make this easier, make the easy bits, then buy some chicken Kyivs instead of frying the chicken and whack one of them (cooked, obvs) in instead. Watch out for that boiling butter though, and mind that T-shirt.”

Makes: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

1 brioche or burger bun, cut in half

3 generous tbsp Coronation Chicken Sauce (see below)

Small handful of Bombay mix (finer London Mix is better if you can get it – the CoFresh brand is excellent)

1 x Carl Clarke’s fried boneless chicken thigh (see below)

1 heaped tbsp lime-pickled onions (see below)

Sprinkling of nigella seeds (if you’ve got them)

1 heaped tbsp shredded iceberg lettuce mixed up with a regular tbsp of finely chopped coriander and mint

For the Coronation sauce (makes enough for 2 sandwiches):

2 heaped tbsp store-bought mayonnaise (I like Hellmann’s)

2 heaped tbsp full-fat Greek yoghurt

1 tbsp mild madras curry powder

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

For Carl Clarke’s fried chicken (makes enough for 4 sandwiches):

4 big boneless chicken thighs, skin on if possible

2L flavourless oil, for deep-frying

For brining the chicken:

284ml buttermilk (that seems to be the size of the containers supermarkets sell)

½ tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp MSG powder (optional)

For the wet bit of fried chicken:

1 free-range egg

120ml whole milk

For the dry bit of fried chicken:

50g plain flour

65g rice flour

20g cornflour

½ tsp fine sea salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the lime-pickled onions (makes enough for 4 sandwiches):

1 large red onion, peeled and finely sliced

Juice of 1 lime

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp nigella seeds (optional)

Method:

1. For the Coronation sauce: Mix all the ingredients together. As always, give it a taste. Bit flat, up the curry powder and vinegar. Lacking depth, bit more salt and pepper. Too rich, maybe a drop of lemon juice or again a splash more vinegar. How easy is that?! And so much better than all those fancy ones. And none of that almonds and raisins rubbish – it’s not a chocolate bar, it’s a chicken sauce, what were they thinking? This will keep for three to four days, at least.

2. For the fried chicken: To brine the chicken, whisk the buttermilk and salt and MSG (if you’re using it) together in a glass or plastic bowl or a plastic container or something. Submerge the thighs in it and stick it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Turn the thighs over every now and again if you remember.

3. When you want to cook the chicken, make the wet bit by whisking the egg and milk in a bowl until completely combined and set aside. For the dry bit, combine all the ingredients in another bowl, whisk them all together well, using a dry whisk, and set that aside too. Take the chicken thighs out of the buttermilk, give them a shake and dip them, one by one, into the flour mix and then into the wet batter, then back into the flour mix. Carl says to work/squeeze the coating around the thighs with your hands so it has a texture ‘almost like cornflakes’.

4. Carl double-fries these babies, so I’m gonna tell you how to do that, but quite frankly, at home, once is probably enough, so skip past this bit to the last paragraph, unless you wanna really go for it. Set your deep-fat fryer to 140C, or if you’re frying in a saucepan, you know the drill: take a large, high-sided pan and heat the oil to 140C, which is the temperature a piece of bread sizzles and goes golden in about 40 seconds (as opposed to the usual 20).

5. Fry the thighs two at a time, depending on the size of your pan/fryer, for seven minutes, then take them out, put them on a rack and ramp up the heat in the oil (like you’re making French fries). This time heat the oil up to 180C – when a piece of bread dropped into the oil sizzles and goes golden in 20 seconds.

6. Fry the chicken again, this time for three to four minutes and rest back on that rack to cool a little while you ready all the other bits for Coronation Chicken Fried Chicken BANGER! If you’re only frying once, heat your oil to 180C from the off and fry the chicken for about seven minutes until it is cooked through and over 70C (158F) inside. If your fried thighs are long and flat, you might wanna cut them in half once they’ve been fried and stack ’em on top of each other in your sarnie.

7. Put the sliced onion in a plastic container with the lime juice and salt and massage them all together. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Lid on, and shake, shake, shake. That’s it. The longer you leave them in the refrigerator (three to four days) and the more regularly you shake the hell out of the tub (five times a day?), the more insanely lurid pink and lip-puckering they’ll become, which is a good thing. I have been known to keep these at home in the refrigerator for weeks and they sometimes start to fizz and ferment, which is fun, and delicious. They are also great (but no way near AS great) and WAY less pink if you don’t touch them again after making them.

8. If your lime is a bit hard, give it a good firm roll on your chopping board under the ball of your hand before cutting it, you’ll get oodles more juice from it that way. If you want to make these even livelier, add a sliced red chilli and you can always switch the lime for lemon. Using the method above (and with loads of violent shaking – every 10 minutes?), the onions will be tasty and usable after two hours if you’re in a rush. Just before you eat these, you can mix the nigella seeds through them. Only do it just before consumption though, otherwise they’ll swell and lose the pleasing smokey pop/crunch thing they have going on.

9. Make the sandwich: Slather the inside top and bottom of the bun in the Coronation chicken sauce and sprinkle the London/Bombay mix all over the top.

10. Put the fried thigh on the bottom and cover it in the pickled onions.

11. Sprinkle the nigella seeds (if using) all over those, then the lettuce and herb mix, put the lid on and you’re done.

‘Max’s World Of Sandwiches’ by Max Halley and Benjamin Benton (Hardie Grant Books, £25).

Croque madame

Marcus Wareing’s croque madame is all melted Gruyère, rich roux and runny yolk decadence (Matt Russell)

“A classic roux sauce is the foundation for so many great recipes and although I didn’t learn about it until I went to college, it’s one of the first things my wife Jane taught our kids to make when they were young,” says Marcus Wareing.

“It opens so many culinary doors: macaroni cheese, lasagna, moussaka and arguably the best sandwiches in France – croques monsieur and madame. Layers of cheese, ham and luxurious roux sauce sandwiched between two slices of bread, toasted in butter and – in the case of the croque madame – topped with a perfectly fried egg.

“Sandwiches may have been invented in Great Britain, but the French really took them to a whole new level with this fabulous recipe.”

Serves: 2

Prep time: under 10 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

100g Gruyère cheese, grated

4 slices of sourdough

4 slices of prosciutto

1 tbsp butter

Vegetable oil, for frying

2 eggs

Watercress or lamb’s lettuce, to serve

For the roux sauce:

200ml milk

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

100g Cheddar cheese, grated

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Start by making the roux sauce. Put the milk and thyme into a small saucepan. Gently bring to a simmer over low heat. Melt the butter in another small saucepan, then add the flour and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat for about one minute to get rid of the floury taste but avoid letting it brown. Gradually whisk in half of the hot milk, then add the remaining milk and cook for a further five minutes over low heat, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat, add the mustards and cheese and stir until the cheese has melted.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

3. Divide the grated Gruyère between two slices of the sourdough, then top with the prosciutto. Finish with two-thirds of the roux sauce then top with the other slices of sourdough. Spread the remaining roux sauce on top. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the butter then carefully add the sandwiches and toast them for three to five minutes. Gently turn the sandwiches over and brown the other side for another three to five minutes.

4. Transfer to the lined baking tray and bake in the oven for four to five minutes until the cheese has melted.

5. While the sandwiches are baking, heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan and crack both eggs into the pan. Fry for two to three minutes, or until the white is set and the yolk is still soft.

6. Place the sandwiches on two separate plates and top each with a fried egg. Serve with watercress or lamb’s lettuce on the side.

‘Marcus’s France’ by Marcus Wareing (Harper NonFiction, £22).

Jack Reuben

Jack Monroe’s vegan Reuben swaps salt beef for jackfruit – and still delivers that glorious messy bite (Patricia Niven)

“I’ve eaten a lot of salt beef sandwiches in my life: fat heavy numbers from Baker Street cafes that I could barely get my sizeable jaw around, midnight bagels in taxis passing through Brick Lane, New York food trucks, and supermarket pretenders that didn’t quite hit the spot but were better than not having one at all,” recalls food writer Jack Monroe.

“A sandwich chapter would not be complete without this, the undisputed king of all sandwiches, so I set about trying to create a vegan version that would be just as delicious in its own right, while staying as faithful as possible to the original. This took a few tries; I marinated in beer, in powdered mushroom stock, in dark hoppy ales and Bisto granules, before I decided to just let the flavours speak for themselves and stop trying to imitate the actual beef.

“The result is crisp but tender, dry enough but with a juicy bite and a tangy, salty, peppery familiarity, something that’s equally at home in a toasted white bagel as a hunk of dark, sweet rye bread.”

Makes: 2

Ingredients:

1 x 400g tin of jackfruit in brine – I like Summer Pride

1 cooked small red beetroot

1 tsp vinegar – any clear kind

1 tsp each of salt and black pepper

½ tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp light cooking oil, plus extra for frying

For the dressing:

1 tsp finely chopped dill pickle

1 tsp finely chopped onion

2 tbsp vegan mayo

2 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp horseradish, if available, or English mustard

A dash of hot sauce

To serve:

2 bagels, sliced, or 4 slices rye bread

Sauerkraut dill pickles, thinly sliced

2 slices smoked vegan ‘cheese’

Method:

1. First drain your jackfruit through a fine-mesh sieve. Squeeze the excess liquid using your hands to push it against the sieve, until the fruit feels fairly dry, then pop it into a large mixing bowl.

2. Finely grate the beetroot over the top. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper, paprika and oil. Break up the jackfruit with a fork or spoon into tiny shreds so the marinade soaks right in. Leave for an hour in the fridge.

3. Meanwhile, make your dressing. Place the dill pickle in a small bowl with the onion. Add the Vegan Mayo, ketchup, horseradish or mustard and hot sauce, and stir well to combine. Put it in the fridge until required.

4. When the jackfruit is well marinated, tip it into a large non-stick frying pan. I prefer to do mine in a wok, but that’s because I like the space to shove it all around a bit. A normal frying pan will do just fine. Add a splash of oil and cook on a high heat for a few minutes until it starts to sizzle, then reduce to a medium heat and cook for 15-20 minutes more, stirring occasionally to disturb it. You want the jackfruit to be slightly crisp at some of its edges, with a dry-but-juicy texture to imitate the salt beef.

5. Toast your bread – whether a bagel or rye bread – lightly on both sides. Now you need to move quickly. Smother the base layer with your jackfruit. Pile it high. Add sauerkraut, pickles and ‘cheese’. Top with dressing. Pop the other slice on top. Halve it if you please – I prefer not to. Devour, over a plate, to catch all that will inevitably plop out the other side as soon as you take a bite. If it’s not leaking, it’s not full enough. There is no gracious way to eat this, you just have to get on with it! And enjoy.

‘Vegan (ish): 100 simple, budget recipes that don’t cost the earth’ by Jack Monroe (Bluebird, £16.99).

Stilton and tamarind Mumbai toastie

British cheese meets Indian spice in Gurdeep Loyal’s Stilton and tamarind toastie – unapologetically bold (Jax Walker)

“I’ve always had a taste for the salty bite of Stilton, particularly those cheeses made in Leicestershire by makers such as Long Clawson Dairy and Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery, and the masala tamarind potatoes in this recipe bring out the cheese’s rich intensity,” says food writer Gurdeep Loyal.

“It’s all toasted until everything melts together, revealing a spectrum of spiced savouriness in every bite. This is unapologetic British Indian hybridity at its utmost – multifaceted flavour-on-flavour made in toastie form – and it is sublime.”

Makes: 2

Ingredients:

For the tamarind potatoes:

1 tbsp ghee

1½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed

1½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1 large potato, boiled and mashed

1 small red onion, very finely chopped

1 green chilli, very finely chopped

1 tsp fine sea salt

2 tbsp gunpowder masala, or garam masala, plus 1 tsp

4 tbsp Tamarind, Date & Mint Sauce, or bottled tamarind table ketchup, or brown sauce, plus more to serve

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

For the toasties:

4 thick slices of white bread

2 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft, plus more for spreading

4 tbsp thick sev, plus more to serve

150g Stilton cheese, crumbled

Method:

1. To make the tamarind potatoes, gently heat the ghee in a saucepan, then add the crushed coriander and fennel seeds, sizzling for one minute. Mix in the mashed potato, red onion, green chilli, salt and gunpowder or garam masala. Turn up the heat to medium, add the tamarind sauce, ketchup or brown sauce and cook for two to three minutes. Finish by mixing through the coriander, then leave to cool.

2. Heat a toastie maker or sandwich grill so it’s hot. (If you don’t have one, these can just as easily be made in a griddle or frying pan).

3. Spread the inside of two pieces of bread with butter, then spoon over a thick layer of the tamarind potatoes. Sprinkle over the thick sev for some crunch. Butter the other slices of bread then generously crumble over the Stilton. Press the two slices together.

4. Mix the two tablespoons of very soft butter with the one teaspoon of gunpowder or garam masala, and spread over the outsides of the sandwiches. Grill for three to four minutes, until the bread is nicely toasted and the Stilton oozing out. Serve with extra tamarind sauce for dipping and thick sev for even more crunch.

‘Mother Tongue: Flavours Of A Second Generation’ by Gurdeep Loyal (Fourth Estate, £26).

Cheese and potato chapatti sandwich recipe

Chetna Makan’s chapatti sandwiches combine paneer, potato and spice in the ultimate handheld comfort (Nassima Rothacker)

“Perfect for picnics, lunchboxes, or a light meal at home, this toasted sandwich is filled with a wonderful mix of paneer, Cheddar, potato and spices,” explains food writer Chetna Makan.

“Toasting the sandwich with mustard seeds gives not only great flavour but a great-looking finish too.”

Makes: 4

Ingredients:

For the chapattis:

200g chapatti flour, plus extra for dusting

¼ tsp salt

140ml water

For the filling:

100g paneer, grated

50g Cheddar cheese, grated

1 small potato, boiled and grated

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp amchoor (mango powder)

1 small green chilli, finely chopped

10g fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

For toasting the sandwiches:

Sunflower oil

Black mustard seeds

Method:

1. To make the chapattis, put the flour and salt into a bowl and gradually add just enough of the water (or a little more, if necessary) to form a soft dough. Knead for two minutes, then cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

2. Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Roll out each portion on a lightly floured surface to a circle 15-18cm across. Heat a skillet until hot, and cook each chapatti for one minute each side on a low-to-medium heat, until slightly golden.

3. To make the filling, combine the ingredients in a bowl.

4. To toast the sandwiches, use the same skillet you used to cook the chapattis. Drizzle with a tiny bit of oil and, once hot, add a pinch of mustard seeds. When they start to sizzle, lay a chapatti in the pan and spread with a quarter of the filling. Place another chapatti on top and cook for a minute on a low-to-medium heat, until the underside is golden. Turn and cook for a minute on the other side, then remove to a plate.

‘Chetna’s Healthy Indian Vegetarian’ by Chetna Makan (Mitchell Beazley, £20).

Croque madame croissant bake

Breakfast meets brunch in this croque-madame-inspired croissant bake – indulgence by the trayful (Louise Hagger)

If you love the classic croque madame sandwich, this version using croissants will take things up a notch.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 croissants

4 thick slices of honey-roast ham

100g grated Cheddar cheese

6 eggs

20ml double cream

100ml whole milk

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cracked black pepper

Knob of salted butter

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

2. Slice the croissants in half and fill with the ham and half the cheese. Arrange the filled croissants on a baking tray with a shallow lip.

3. Lightly beat two of the eggs in a medium-sized bowl, then stir in the double cream, whole milk, remaining Cheddar and salt and pepper.

4. Pour the egg mixture over the croissants and bake for 12 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the remaining four eggs.

6. Remove the croissant bake from the oven and serve straight away, with each portion topped with a crispy fried egg.

‘Caught Snackin’: 100 recipes. Simple. Fast. Flavoursome.’ by Caught Snackin’ (Hamlyn, £20).

Rainbow chard, Cheddar and mango chutney cheese toastie

‘Grilling greens brings out their smoky sweetness,’ says Genevieve Taylor – and her rainbow chard toastie proves it (Jason Ingram)

“Chard is a very lovely thing to grill, the earthy flavours responding brilliantly to heat and smoke. You need to treat the stems and leaves almost as two separate vegetables, as the stems take considerably longer to cook,” explains grill extraordinaire, Genenvieve Taylor.

“I tend to put them on to a cold griddle, then turn on the heat so they start with a few minutes of gentle cooking as the temperature rises. Of course, if you are cooking over charcoal this isn’t practical, so start them off on a colder part of your barbecue before moving them over the direct heat once they have started to soften.”

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

A drizzle of olive oil

4 stalks of rainbow chard, stems and leaves separated

A slick of butter

2 generous slices of sourdough bread

1 bird’s-eye chilli, finely chopped, or more to taste

75g extra mature Cheddar

1 tbsp mango chutney

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Drizzle a little oil over the stems and leaves of the chard, rubbing it in so they are evenly coated. Rest the stems on your griddle and turn on the heat so they begin to soften as it comes up to temperature, or set them on the grill, slightly away from the fire. Turn them over regularly as they cook so they caramelise all over. Once the stems are almost cooked, about 10 minutes, add the leaves to the hot grill and allow them to wilt and start to char in places.

2. Spread just a little butter on both slices of bread. Turn one slice over and layer on the grilled chard leaves. Roughly chop the stems and toss together on the chopping board with the chilli. Scatter them over the leaves and top with the Cheddar. Turn over the other slice of bread and spread the mango chutney on the unbuttered side, then invert over the sandwich and press down firmly so the buttered side is on top. Transfer to the grill carefully, using a fish slice and tongs to keep everything together, and cook for a couple of minutes each side.

3. It’s ready when the bread is nicely toasted and the cheese is melting. Slice in half and allow to cool for a minute or so before eating – the molten cheese will be burn-your-tongue hot.

‘Charred’ by Genevieve Taylor (Quadrille, £16.99).

Hot fish sandwich with satay nut butter

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall proves fish sandwiches can be both virtuous and wildly satisfying (Lizzie Mayson)

“You may already know how much I enjoy a hot fish sandwich. This latest incarnation is combined with a delicious satay nut butter, and I like to add a contrasting layer of crunchy kimchi slaw, too,” says Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

“This sandwich works well with white fish fillets, such as haddock or coley, but it’s also great with meatier fish like mackerel or bream.”

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 skinless fish fillets (100-120g each), such as hake or coley, or MSC-certified haddock or cod

A little light plain wholemeal flour

Oil or fat for cooking

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Sea salt and black pepper

For the satay nut butter:

2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

½ small garlic clove, crushed or very finely grated

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime or ½ lemon

1 tbsp soy sauce

To assemble:

2 large, soft wholemeal baps, split

4 lettuce leaves

1 ripe tomato, sliced

2-3 tbsp Kimchi slaw (optional)

Method:

1. First make the satay nut butter. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well, seasoning with a few twists of pepper. If the nut butter seems too thick to spread, stir in a dash of water to loosen it.

2. Check the fish fillets for pin-bones, removing any you find with tweezers. Season the fish well on both sides with salt and pepper. Dust the fillets with a little flour.

3. Heat a little oil or fat in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bay leaves and fry until they start to colour (you are using them to flavour the oil and fish so it’s okay if they brown a bit).

4. Add the fish fillets to the pan, along with the garlic, and fry for 3-4 minutes, basting with the oil, until nearly cooked through. Carefully flip the fish fillets over and cook for a minute or so on the other side.

5. In the meantime, spread the bap bases with a generous spoonful of the satay nut butter. Lay two overlapping lettuce leaves on top, then a couple of tomato slices.

6. Using a thin spatula or fish slice, lift the hot fish fillets out of the pan straight onto the tomato slices. Top with a spoonful of kimchi slaw if you like.

7. Sandwich together with the bap tops and squeeze gently to bring the layers together. Eat straight away.

‘How to Eat 30 Plants a Week’ by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury, £25).

Nisha Katona’s Indian fish finger sandwich

Nisha Katona’s nostalgic twist on a fish finger sandwich – inspired by her mum’s handbag hacks at McDonald’s (Yuki Segiura)

“This dish is an ode to my mother’s ability to meddle,” says Mowgli restaurateur Nisha Katona.

“When we first discovered McDonald’s in the UK in 1978, we would drive all the way to London for a Filet-O-Fish. In the back of our Ford Anglia, Ma would open her handbag and produce some homemade green chilli pickle and finely sliced red onion and set to work on her hard-won prize. As children, we were always mortified, but it turns out that mothers really do know best.”

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for frying

125g gram/chickpea flour, plus extra for sprinkling

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground turmeric

1/8 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ajwain seeds

1 tsp white poppy seeds

350g white fish fillets (haddock or cod work well), cut into 12 goujons

8 slices white bread, buttered

For the gherkin and coriander raita:

250g Greek yoghurt

Juice of ¼ lemon

½ tsp ground cumin

½ clove garlic, crushed

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp roughly chopped gherkins

Small handful fresh coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Following manufacturers’ guidelines, add oil to a deep-fat fryer and preheat to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. If you don’t have a deep-fat dryer, simply put four centimetres of vegetable oil in the base of a large pan and set over a medium-high heat.

2. Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt, baking powder, ground turmeric, chilli powder, ajwain seeds and poppy seeds and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and gradually whisk in around 150 mililitres cold water to make a thick batter.

3. Check the oil by carefully dropping a small spoonful of batter into it – if the batter bubbles and floats to the surface then it is ready. Sprinkle the fish goujons with a little flour, then dip them into the batter to cover, shaking off any excess. Carefully lower the coated goujons into the oil and fry for three to four minutes, until the batter is puffed and golden and the fish is cooked through. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the elements.

4. To make the raita, put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

5. Spread each of the bread slices with some of the raita. Lay the goujons over half of the bread slices, then top the sandwiches with the remaining bread. Cut into halves and enjoy!

‘30 Minute Mowgli’ by Nisha Katona (Nourish Books, £25).