Cheese and Onion Rarebit



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There are many versions of Welsh rarebit (or rabbit). This one is richly flavoured with cheese and thickened with breadcrumbs to add texture, and is spooned over thinly sliced red onions before being grilled until golden and bubbling. A spinach, apple and celery salad is the perfect partner.

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes
Serves 4


Cheese and Onion Rarebit ingredients


100 ml low-fat milk
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 cup (120 g) firmly packed grated reduced-fat tasty cheese
1/2 cup (30 g) fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
4 thick slices multigrain bread
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

For the salad
1 tbsp walnut or hazelnut oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp poppy seeds
salt and pepper
200 g baby spinach leave
2 red apples, quartered, cored and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced

Cheese and Onion Rarebit preparation method


1 Preheat the grill to high. Put the milk, mustard powder and cheese in a small heavy-based saucepan and stir over a low heat until the cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs. Cool for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened to a spreading consistency.

2 Meanwhile, arrange the slices of bread on the grill tray and toast on both sides under the grill.

3 While the bread is toasting, make the salad. Put the oil, red wine vinegar and poppy seeds in a salad bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk to mix. Add the spinach, apples and celery, but do not toss the salad.

4 Top the toast with the slices of red onion, then spoon the cheese mixture over the top, spreading it out to cover the toast completely. Return to the grill and cook for 2–3 minutes or until the cheese mixture is golden brown and bubbling. Toss the salad and serve with the rarebits.

Some more ideas…
Cheese and tomato rarebit Instead of the red onion use 4 firm but ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to the cheese mixture instead of the mustard powder.

Gorgonzola and pear rarebit Replace the cheese with 1/3 cup (50 g) crumbled gorgonzola cheese, and use 2 tsp whole-grain mustard instead of the mustard powder. Thinly slice 1 large, firm but ripe pear and arrange on top of the toast in place of the onion. Serve with a salad, made by whisking together 2 tbsp canola oil, 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice and salt and pepper, and tossing in 1 large bunch of watercress, 1 cup (75 g) bean sprouts and 100 g halved cherry tomatoes.

Each serving provides
Key nutrients 1297 kJ
13 g protein
13 g fat (of which 4 g is saturated fat)
36 g carbohydrate (of which 14 g are sugars)
6 g fibre
644 mg sodium
GI estimate: low
From HealthSmart Magazine