THE REGGIE WATTS CHEESE TOASTIE:TAKING IN a Reggie Watts show is a live experience like no other. To begin with, there's his beatboxing, of which he is an undeniable master. Then there are the singing skills.
His diverse musical background allows him to flip from one style to the next with magical ease. And, of course, you also have to remember that he’s a wild and brilliant comic with a completely unique, stream-of-consciousness improv style. No two shows are ever the same. No show is ever without its many, many surprises.
This one-of-a-kind approach to live entertainment has earned him legions of fans the world over. Conan O’Brien had this to say of him: “He may be the only person in the business with hair more shocking than mine.” Not only has Watts been a regular guest on O’Brien’s TV show, but he’s performed on every gig of the recent live comedy tour O’Brien staged around the US. Since then he’s tackled a dizzying array of work that’s taken in Comedy Central programmes, tours of Canada and Europe, and a new 10-part show on the Independent Film Channel.
So what does the teetotaler workaholic musical comedian do in his few bits of downtime? Well to start off with, he loves to indulge in some of the food that his French mother made for him as a child – patés, terrines, gruyere-packed onion soup. But Watts’s own killer dish is the humble cheese toastie, which is not your run-of-the-mill pub sarnie. Like everything else Reggie Watts does, he takes it to a whole new level.
INGREDIENTS: (makes 2)
4 slices of multi-grain brown bread
4 sandwich sized slices of mature cheddar cheese
1 chicken fillet
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
5-6 fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon of finely chopped chives
White pepper and sea salt to season
METHOD: Mix 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the lemon juice and a little salt and pepper in a cup. Tear the tarragon leaves roughly and combine them with the oil. Smear this all over the chicken and allow it to marinade for at least an hour.
Cook the chicken on a dry griddle pan until there is a nice char on it and the centre is done. Let it rest for 15 minutes so that the juices go back into the meat.
Heat a flat frying pan with the remaining olive oil at a medium level.
Place a slice of cheese on each slice of bread and sprinkle on a little of the chive and some seasoning. Then cut the chicken as thin as possible and place it on top of the cheese. Make your sandwiches and slide them onto the pan. Cook each side until it’s golden brown.
Reggie Watts is at Whelan’s, Dublin on Saturday, January 21 rockcookbook.com
