Every serious recipe repertoire should include one damn good sandwich. This one.

Ingredients for 2 sandwiches

• 6 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
• 200g/not quite half a pound of chicken breast
• 4 slices of cheddar cheese
• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of basil pesto
• 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato pesto
• 1 dozen bacon strips
• lettuce of your choice
• 2 avocados
• 1 lemon

Mise en place

Peel and slice the avocados, sprinkle with lemon juice, add salt and pepper. Pick some splendid lettuce leaves, wash them with cold water and dry with a towel. Mix half of the mayonnaise with basil pesto in a small bowl, the other half with tomato pesto in another bowl. For each sandwich, toast three slices of bread lightly in the toaster, then set them aside.

Interlude: Make perfect bacon in the oven

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay bacon strips flat on the sheet. Put the sheet in the oven (not preheated you amateur, don't you know that wastes energy?!) at 200°C/390°F for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it during the final countdown (dee-doo-dee doo) and make sure it doesn't burn. Remove bacon from oven, put it on some paper towels to absorb the fat. Do not eat bacon. Do you hear me? I'm serious. Stop eating that bacon right now.

Roast and slice the chicken

Heat up your steel pan of choice well, add some sunflower oil. Roast the chicken gently – both sides – each about 2 minutes to get a nice brown crackling. Add salt, pepper and red pepper if you like. Put it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 200°C/390°F. Find a really sharp knife. Don't screw around, use the sharpest knife you can find and cut the chicken into super thin slices. Stop eating that bacon.

Bring it all together

Spread two slices of bread on one side with basil-pesto & mayo. These will be your bottom and top parts. Spread another piece of bread with tomato-pesto & mayo on both sides. Obviously, this will be the center. Start with the bottom. Place some avocado, one leaf of lettuce, and a couple of bacon strips on it. Apply center piece. Carefully arrange the chicken, top it with cheese. If the chicken is still warm, the cheese will begin to melt slightly. Add the final piece of bread.

Cut the sandwich diagonally into triangles and stick a toothpick in the center of each one. Share with a good friend.