To chiffonade the basil, stack up the basil leaves one on top of the other neatly, roll it up lengthwise, like a cigar, and then cut it crossways, so you’re left with thin strips of basil.

Get a pan on the stove – I use a non-stick one – on low heat and add in the pepperoni slices. You want to cook the pepperoni till it’s nice and crispy. There’s no need to add oil to the pan because the fat from the pepperoni will render out enough to fry it in.

Once the pepperoni is done, set on a plate laid with a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Don’t wash the pepperoni pan – you’ll see why later.

Set aside a few slices of pepperoni. Stack up the rest of the pepperoni and cut it up into smaller bite-sized pieces so it’s easier to eat. Set it aside.

In a mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese, dried oregano, red chilli flakes and mix it all together.

Add in the shredded mozzarella, the chopped up pepperoni and basil strips and give it another mix. Set the filling aside.

I’m using plain white bread for the sandwich to let the filling shine, but you can use any bread you like. Spread the marinara sauce from end to end – not too much, you don’t want it soggy, just enough to coat the slice from end to end.

Get a spoonful of filling and spread that on top of the pizza sauce, again covering the slice uniformly from end to end.

Add another slice of bread on top of the filling, and then it’s time to grill the sandwich.

Get the same pan on the stove in which we fried the pepperoni – all that pepperoni oil is going to give our sandwich an extra layer of flavour. Once the pan is hot, slide in the sandwich and let it mop up all that pepperoni goodness. Butter the side of the bread that’s facing up, then cover it with a lid and cook on low heat until the bottom of the sandwich is crispy. The cover helps the cheese melt evenly inside.

Flip the sandwich over and put the butter side down on the pan. Let the other side cook the same way, and you can take it off the heat once it’s got that crisp golden brown exterior.

Cut the sandwich diagonally and it’s ready to serve.

Follow steps 7 to 9 as above, then butter just one side of the sandwich. Place the sandwich butter side down, cover with a lid as before, and cook till the bottom is golden brown.

Flip the sandwich over so your unbuttered side is down, let that toast to golden brown too. Flip it again till the unbuttered side is back on top.

Put the sandwich on an oven-safe tray. Spread a tablespoonful of the pizza sauce on the unbuttered side of the sandwich. Top it with a generous sprinkling of shredded mozzarella and the few saved slices of pepperoni from earlier.

Now stick the tray with the sandwich directly under the broiler on your oven, or just under the heating element. If you want to be extra fancy like me and want to play around with your kitchen torch, you can use that to get the cheese on top all nice and melty, just like a pizza. When the cheese has melted and your pepperoni looks crisp, your sandwich is ready. Slice carefully – it’ll be very hot – and serve!