Servings 4 | Prep and cooking time:25 mins | Difficulty: medium | Cannot be frozen
Ingredients
For the eggs
8 quail eggs
4 sheets nori
For the sandwiches
8 small slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed from two sides of the bread slices
4 tbsp mayonnaise
4 slices ham, honey-roast
8 slices American-style cheese
For the corn fingers
12 baby corn
12 small cherry tomatoes
Tthyme leaves, or decorative green sprinkles
To serve
1 small red cabbage, shredded
8 chocolate-covered raisins, or peanuts
Method
1. Cook the eggs in a large pan of boiling water for 3 minutes, timing carefully. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in iced water.
2. Dip the nori sheets into the boiling water used for the eggs and refresh in iced water alongside the eggs. Remove the nori sheets, pat dry with kitchen paper and finely chop.
3. Crack and peel the eggs, then roll in the chopped nori. Season with a little salt and pepper and chill until needed.
4. To make the sandwiches, spread four slices of bread with mayonnaise. Top with ham and cheese slices, trimming them to size; reserve the offcuts for decoration.
5. Position the remaining slices of bread on top and cut in half diagonally. From the reserved offcuts, cut four tongues from the ham and eight fang shapes from the cheese. Position on the sandwiches to create monster faces, then place in a bento box or small lunch box.
6. To make the sweet corns, steam the baby corn over a simmering pan of water until tender, 2-3 minutes.
7. Remove from the steamer, pat dry and set aside. Remove the bottoms of the cherry tomatoes so that they sit flat. Carefully scoop out some of the seeds before slipping on to the tips of the baby corn.
8. Use the tip of a sharp knife to draw on faces. Decorate the tops with thyme leaves or decorative green sprinkles.
9. To serve, line the bento boxes with a layer of shredded cabbage. Sit the sandwiches on top, placing the chocolate-covered raisins as eyes on the sandwiches.
10. Position the baby corn fingers upright in the cabbage with the covered quail's eggs next to them.
