As I thought about tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, I figured I’d play around with the grilled cheese part and see what kind of twist I could put on them. The obvious addition was ham. Make them on a hearty whole grain rustic bread with a little pesto and what’s not to love!
I’m very fortunate to live five minutes from Whole Foods. I stopped by on my way home from work to see what kind of grilled cheese goodness I could come up with. I stopped at the cheese and deli department and asked for their best ham that would compliment the gruyere that I had in my basket. He suggested an Italian ham smoked with rosemary. The myriad choices in the bread section initiated a Pavlov’s dog reaction and my eyes quickly settled on a three grain sourdough. Bingo!
If I’m feeling lazy, I buy pre-made pesto at the Farmers Market where I do most of my food shopping. I’ve even found pesto in a jar at the grocery store that was passable. I happened to have some fresh basil, walnuts, garlic, EVOO and parm, so I threw them all in the food processor and had fresh pesto. For these sandwiches, pre-made pesto is fine.
The sandwiches and soup ended the day with all the comfort I was craving!
Ingredients
1 loaf of hearty, rustic, whole grain bread
8 oz Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 lb deli ham, sliced thin
Basil Pesto
2 tbsp butter
Instructions
1. Slice bread.
2. Spread pesto on one side of the sandwich.
3. Add cheese and top with a couple of ham slices.
4. Add more cheese to taste.
5. Melt half of the butter in a large skillet or griddle.
6. Place sandwiches in the skillet and press with a spatula.
7. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until bread starts browning.
8. Before turning, add more butter to the skillet.
9. Cook for 2-3 minutes continuing to press on the sandwiches.
10. Continue turning and pressing the sandwiches every couple of minutes until the bread is browned and the cheese is melted.
Alternatively, you can use a sandwich or panini press to make these sandwiches. If you use this method, spread room temperature butter on each side of the sandwich before putting on the press.
https://southernboydishes.com/2012/09/20/grilled-gruyere-ham-and-pesto-sandwich-on-three-grain-sourdough/
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Food processor? I dont know what this younger generation s coming to, in my day all we had to help cook was a knife, a mallet and the weedwhacker.