Cheesy Bagel with Horseradish & Pickled Onions

If we have bagels, my go-to brunch most weekends is something like: get a bagel, slice it in half, toast it, spread something on it (laoganma, cream cheese, roasted garlic paste, pesto...), top it with cheese, maybe sprinkle something else on top of that, back into the toaster oven to melt the cheese, then top with black pepper. It's easy to put together, filling, and tasty.

This morning, I did that, and Alex ate half of it, declared it delicious, and said that she wanted me to make one of these again next time we have bagels. Which is pretty exciting, since she's been on a Flavour Is The Enemy kick for a while. So I'm recording the specific recipe for posterity.

Ingredients

• Bagel
• Strong horseradish puree
• Pickled red onion slices
• Cheddar cheese, planed or cut into thin slices
• 1 pepperette (or 2 mini-pepperettes), cut into thin discs

Procedure

1. Slice the bagel and toast it until it's just starting to turn brown around the edges.
2. Spread with horseradish
3. Top with pickled onion
4. Cover with cheddar
5. Sprinkle with pepperette discs
6. Return to the toaster oven to melt the cheese and toast the pepperettes
7. Generously grind black pepper onto it and eat