Grilled Cheese with Bitter Greens
Photo by Claudia Alexander
A couple of weeks ago I got a present decorated with a plaque that read:
2020
One Star
Wouldn’t Recommend
We hung it on a cabinet in our kitchen, enjoying the sentiment— 2020 an unprecedented year of little choice about our circumstances and no control over our situation. Since it is a new year, I thought we could start it out with plenty of choices.
It was a dark and stormy night…just kidding—it was a sunny, warm afternoon (too warm for December). Hungry after a walk up the hill with the dog, and looking for some kind of lunch, we pulled bread cheese and a couple heads of bitter greens out of the fridge. My husband was skeptical though we both love grilled cheese sandwiches; he just wasn’t sure about the combination. It was an adult version of the grade school lunch we probably all had: a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup. You can use any kind of cheese here, but I recommend a strong one like sharp cheddar, provolone, gruyere, or fontina. You can choose from many bitter greens that are in season now. I have used leftover broccoli rabe, escarole, or frisée. You can grill it in a frying pan or if you want to get fancy, dig out that panini press you have in the back of your cabinet. If you would like it to look like a panini-pressed sandwich and don’t have a press, put a heavy (cast-iron) pan on top of the sandwich while it is cooking. We give this sandwich 5 stars, unlike 2020.
Makes 2 sandwiches
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Ingredients:
4 thick slices of sourdough bread, or French loaf
8 oz. sliced fontina, sharp cheddar, or provolone
1/4lb. escarole, broccoli rabe, or frisée washed, dried and any thick stems or ribs removed
1-2 tablespoons fig preserves (optional)
Canola spray for grilling or a couple tablespoons of unsalted butter softened
If you are using broccoli rabe it has to be cooked unless you are only using the leaves. Make sure your greens are washed and dried completely. Place ¼ of the cheese on a slice of bread and spread with the preserves (if using). Add ½ of your greens and follow up with another ¼ of the cheese. Lay the second slice of bread on top of your sandwich. Heat a griddle pan over medium high heat for two minutes. Spray pan with oil or butter one side of the sandwich. Add your first sandwich (butter side down) and cook for two minutes until golden. Flip and cook another 2 minutes. Repeat with your second sandwich. Serve warm.
Photo by Claudia Alexander