Food and lifestyle with a dusting of magic
Cheese savoury sandwiches are a delicious mix of cheese, onions, carrots and mayonnaise. They are a popular sandwich filling in North East England.
I can clearly remember my first encounter with a cheese savoury sandwich. I went to grab a sandwich between lectures after starting at university on Newcastle. Greggs, a local bakery that started in Gosforth in the 1950’s was nearby. Inside I found a large range of sandwiches for sale. Most of these were in stottie cakes, a flat round bread cut into quarters. It is local to Newcastle. I have to admit to wondering what a stottie was.
Read more: Stottie cake recipe
Among the sandwich selection were ham and pease pudding and cheese savoury. I tried the cheese savoury sandwiches. They are a cheesy crunchy tangy sandwich, quite unlike anything I had eaten before. It was delicious.
Read more: Traditional recipes from North East England
Cheese savoury sandwiches are a sandwich filling that is only found in and around Newcastle. It is a shame as the sandwich is a real treat and would brighten up anyone’s lunch box. I have been experimenting and managed to recreate the cheese savoury sandwich at home.
One thing that people in the North East are good at is creating tasty filling recipes using basic ingredients. Most of these recipes probably came from the days when men worked in the steel yards and the pits. Times were hard and a little had to go a long way.
Recipes like Pan Haggerty and Leek Pudding are examples of these types of frugal recipe. I can imagine the cheese savoury stottie being enjoyed by men hard at work on the ships. They would have it for their bait, a geordie word for packed lunch.
Read more: Leek Pudding
My cheese savoury sandwich was served on brown bread baps instead of the traditional stottie cake. The filling is delicious in any type of bread. Make sure you create a large batch as it will disappear quickly.
Making the cheese savoury filling requires lots of grating, so make sure you have a decent grater. Collect together a block of tangy cheddar cheese, an onion and a carrot. A little salt and pepper can also used for seasoning. The final ingredient is mayonnaise.
Now it is time to get grating. Grate the cheese, onion and carrot into a bowl and mix them up. It is not that easy grating an onion, keep a box of tissues handy in case your eyes water. Just remember the filling will be worth it.
The carrots add a sweetness and crunch to the filling without being obvious. It is a great way to sneak in some vegetables if you have reluctant vegetable eaters in your family. Once everything has been grated add the mayonnaise. Mix it into the mixture until the filling is moist, but be careful not to add too much. Finally spoon the filling into your sandwiches.
The filling needs no accompaniment but if you wish you can add salad, chives or even crisps and a gherkin like they do in America. A little salt and pepper can be used for seasoning. Adjust the amount to suit your taste.
This filling would also be ideal for parties, it would leave your guests wondering how you made it. It is also a great way of sneaking some vegetables into your children’s lunch box.
The cheese savoury sandwich filling can be kept in plastic box in the fridge if you do not use it all at once. It will keep for up to a week.
Why not pin the recipe for later?
What are your favourite sandwich fillings? Do let me know below.
You might also want to try this toasted cheese sandwich which makes a lovely lunch on a cold day.
You cannot beat a good old cheese sandwich! This filling sounds lovely x #recipeoftheweek
Thank you
This looks very tasty and easy to make. Thanks for sharing it! We lived in the British Midlands for the first 3 years we were married but rarely made it to the Northeast. I loved it there.
It is a fabulous place to live, we have everything you need nearby.
Ooh this sounds lovely – I’ll definitely be trying it because we love cheese and coleslaw and it sounds like a mixture of the two 🙂
oooh let me know what you think
This sounds yummy! Thank you for sharing at the Sunday Fitness & Food Link-Up 🙂