James Martin cooks bacon rarebit with apple chutney (cheese on toast) on Saturday Kitchen.

James says: “James whips up a quick chutney to make a meal of cheese on toast.”

The ingredients for the chutney are: 150g soft light brown sugar, 100g sultanas, 125ml malt vinegar, 2 eating apples, cored and roughly chopped, 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped and 1 onion, finely chopped.

For the rarebit: 8 slices dry-cured back bacon, 350g mature cheddar cheese, grated, 50ml beer, 1 tsp English mustard, 3-4 dashes Tabasco sauce, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp plain flour, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and 4 slices thickly sliced white bread.

To prepare the chutney, heat a large frying pan until hot. Add the brown sugar and sultanas and heat until the sugar is just melting. Add the vinegar and cook until totally dissolved and starting to caramelise.

Stir in the apples, tomatoes and onion and cook for 10 minutes, or until the apple is tender and the mixture thickened. Remove from the heat and decant into a sterilised jar.
For the rarebit, preheat the grill to high.

Place the bacon onto an oven tray and grill for 4-6 minutes, or until golden-brown at the edges and just cooked through.

Place the cheese and beer in a frying pan and heat gently until the cheese is melted, bubbling and smooth, then stir in the mustard, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the flour and cook until just thickened. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.

Meanwhile, toast the bread on each side and then lay in an ovenproof dish. Top with two pieces of the cooked bacon and spoon the rarebit mixture over the top.

Grill for 2-3 minutes, or until the topping is golden-brown and bubbling. Serve with a dollop of chutney.