This is my simplified version of Nigel Slater’s recipe. His is glorious, but I rarely spend much time on lunches, so I wanted to create something with the same flavours but without the long cooking times. I also prefer using soft goats’ cheese rather than rounds – it makes for a much lighter meal, and is significantly cheaper too.

Ingredients (serves 1):
– 2 slices bread
– 2 cloves garlic
– 100g soft goats’ cheese
– few sprigs fresh thyme
– 1tbsp olive oil
– 1tsp balsamic vinegar
– black pepper

1. Start by lightly toasting the bread, then peel the garlic cloves and rub them over the toast.

2. Sprinkle over the thyme leaves, then spread on the goats’ cheese and grind a little pepper over everything.

3. Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic, then place under a grill for about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it so nothing burns – you want the bread to be golden, and the cheese to be bubbling.