Anyone can lay a few slices of cheese on toast and melt them, but creating a thick sauce of cheese, beer and spices and then spreading it on toast creates one of the best late-night snacks I know. This is Welsh rarebit, or rabbit, a traditional British dish whose name has a long and complicated history, one we will not go into here.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon mustard powder, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
  • ¾ cup strong dark beer, like Guinness
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
  • 1 pound Cheddar, Double Gloucester or other English cheese (or other good semi-hard cheese, like Comté or Gruyère, or a mixture), grated
  • 4 to 8 pieces lightly toasted bread

    4 or more servings

    Preparation

    1. Put butter in a saucepan over medium heat and, as it melts, stir in flour. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and very fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and cayenne, then whisk in beer and Worcestershire sauce.
    2. When mixture is uniform, turn heat to low and stir in cheese, again stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a broad container to set (you can refrigerate for up to a day at this point).
    3. Spread mixture thickly on toast and put under broiler until bubbly and edges of toast are crisp. Serve immediately.

    20 minutes

    Dining and Cooking