Vegetable-Laden Grilled Cheese

Even back when I was a teenager I thought that what grilled cheese needed was a bit of veg. My early attempts did not go well, however. I tried adding sliced tomato and pepper, and either the vegetable slices went under the cheese and came out raw, or they went over the cheese and the cheese did not melt. I never really did resolve the issue.

But along came Pinterest, and I started to see a number of grilled cheese pictures where the vegetables have been chopped finely and mixed with grated cheese, and huh! That would solve the problem, yes. Most of these photos seem to be from Indian or Turkish cooks; I've leaned more to the Indian side with cumin and chile. Chopped olives seem to be more favoured by Turkish cooks as an addition. 

This, by the way, is how we always made grilled cheese in our house. I mean under the broiler. Two slices of bread cooked in a pan or grill was regarded as a way for restaurants to give you more cheap bread in proportion to the cheap cheese they used. I'm more of a bread-lover than I used to be, and occasionally now make grilled cheese that way too, just with much better bread and much better cheese than used in any diner. Under the broiler remains my favourite grilled cheese though, and now it has plenty of vegetables cooked right in.

per serving
20 minutes prep time

2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped tomato
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion, chives, or shallot
1 tablespoon finely chopped orange or green pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, OR basil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seed
1/8 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or similar, to taste)
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
30 grams (1 ounce) mozzarella, Cheddar, Gouda, or similar melty cheese
1 large slice of bread

Amounts are per serving; increase according to the number of slices of bread you wish to have. 

Chop the tomato, draining off excess amounts of seeds and juice. Measure and put the remainder into a strainer and salt well. Let drain for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, clean and chop the remaining vegetables and herbs and place them in a small mixing bowl. Grind the cumin seeds and add them, along with any other seasonings. Salt is only likely to be needed if the cheese is mozzarella; most others will have plenty. Grate the cheese and add it.

Heat the broiler and toast the bread to a desired light brown on one side, then turn and toast the other side more lightly. Mix the drained tomatoes in with everything else in the bowl until evenly combined, then spread evenly on the lightly toasted side of the bread. Return the bread to the broiler and broil until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and browning slightly in spots. Serve at once.





Last year at this time I made Fried Cauliflower with Mushroom & Onion Sauce. 

Posted in: Ontario Food