The chicken meat used for this was left over from a Moroccan chicken tagine I made the night before. In the crisper was an unopened packet of Vacchino Romano cheese from Bush Hill in Creighton in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. And there’s always mayonnaise somewhere in the fridge.

I have garlic chives growing in my garden, the wild ones that get the soft lilac-pink flowers in summer, but any chives will do, or a herb such as parsley, coriander, oregano, fennel or thyme. Your choice of herb will of course affect the flavour. Any of those will work. I wouldn’t choose rosemary; their flavour is too powerful and the chopped needles might seem a touch gritty in a toasted sandwich.

I grilled them in an air fryer on the grill setting for only three minutes, after first toasting the bread in a toaster and then slicing the crusts off. But you can just pop them under a conventional grill until they are meltingly good and golden.

(Makes 6 toasties)

Ingredients

6 slices of white bread, crusts cut off

The meat of two cooked chicken thighs (or 1 breast, or for that matter any leftover chicken meat)

1 cup white cheese, grated (Cheddar will do fine)

3 (very) heaped Tbsp mayonnaise

3 garlic chives, chopped (or other chives, or herbs)

Salt and white pepper to taste

Method

Remove the chicken meat from the thighs, discarding any skin, bone and sundry unwanted bits. Chop them up and put them in a bowl.

Chop the chives or herbs and add them, as well as the mayonnaise.

Grate your choice of cheese and add it.

Season with salt and white pepper, and stir everything together.

Toast slices of bread, cut off the crusts (this is of course optional, I only did it so they would look good in a photograph), and pile the mixture on top, smoothing it out to all corners with a knife or spoon.

Preheat your air fryer on the grill or air fryer setting, setting it for three minutes. Mine automatically set the temperature to 205℃ when I chose the grill setting, otherwise make it 200℃ for three minutes.

Alternatively, pop them under a conventional grill for a few minutes, watching until they have melted and browned.

They turned out golden and meltingly good in the air fryer. A slim garlic chive makes a good garnish. DM

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This dish is photographed on a platter by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.