If you like grilled cheese sandwiches and Italian-style food, I have a recipe that offers both in one tasty package.
It’s a grilled cheese sandwich made with two types of Italian cheese — sliced mozzarella and asiago or provolone, depending on your preference — roasted peppers, arugula and a fresh herb.
Provolone is an Italian semi-hard cheese known for its sharp and tangy flavour. Asiago can vary in taste, depending on how long it’s aged, but is often described as having a creamy, tangy, nutty flavour.
The roasted red peppers I used were the jarred ones sold at supermarkets (they are sometimes labelled fire-roasted peppers). You could also roast, peel and seed your own red bell peppers.
For the herb in the sandwiches, you could use leaves of fresh basil or oregano. I chose oregano because my herb garden has an abundance of it right now.
To make the sandwiches, I buttered slices of rustic white bread on one side (you could also lightly brush them with olive oil). The sandwiches were then filled with the cheeses, oregano (or basil), arugula and roasted peppers and grilled over medium heat.
I sliced and served the sandwiches with hot marinara sauce for dipping. This Italian-style sauce is sold in jars at most supermarkets. You could also make your own, using my recipe.
Italian-style Grilled Cheese with Marinara Dipping Sauce
These hot, Italian-style sandwiches are filled with two types of cheese, arugula, oregano and roasted peppers, served with hot marinara sauce, for dipping.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: eight to 10 minutes
Makes: Two sandwiches
4 to 6 tsp soft butter or olive oil
4 oval slices rustic white bread or Italian bread (see Note)
100 grams mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
100 grams asiago or provolone cheese, thinly sliced
• oregano leaves or fresh basil, to taste
2 large roasted red peppers, each cut into four or five pieces (see Note)
1 cup packed baby arugula leaves
1/2 to 2/3 cup store-bought or homemade (see recipe below) marinara sauce, heated
Evenly butter, or lightly brush with olive oil, one side of each bread slice. Divide and top the unbuttered or unoiled side of two of the bread slices with half the mozzarella cheese and half the asiago (or provolone) cheese. Top the cheese with oregano (or basil) leaves. Now top the oregano (or basil) with the pieces of roasted red pepper and the baby arugula. Top the arugula with the remaining cheese slices. Set on the other bread slices, buttered or oiled side up. Gently press down on each sandwich to compact them.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the sandwiches to the skillet. Set a sandwich press or other weight, such as pot lid, on top of the sandwiches. Grill the sandwiches four to five minutes per side, or until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown. Lower the heat a bit if the sandwiches are browning too quickly.
When sandwiches are cooked, let them rest a minute, before cutting and serving with bowls of the hot marinara sauce, for dipping.
Note 1: The rustic style of white bread I used for the sandwiches was made by Victoria’s Wild Fire Bakery. It’s sold there and at some local food stores, such as The Old Farm Market and Pepper’s. Other types of dense, hearty, country-style bread from other bakeries will also work here. Jars of roasted red peppers are sold at most grocery stores.
Eric’s options: If you like Italian-style sliced meats, such as salami, prosciutto or soppressata, you can also add them to these sandwiches.
Marinara Sauce
This tomatoey marinara sauce can be used as a dip for Italian-style grilled cheese sandwiches, or as a sauce for pasta, meatballs, chicken Parmigiana and pizza. This recipe could be halved if the seven cups it yields is too much for you.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: About 40 minutes
Makes: About seven cups
2 (28-oz/798 mL) canned whole tomatoes, such as Italian San Marzano plum (roma) tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 or 3 large garlic cloves, half and thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp dried oregano
• pinch granulated sugar
8 fresh basil leaves, torn
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place the tomatoes and their juice in a bowl. Use your hands to squash and break the tomatoes into chunks.
Heat oil in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until both are fragrant and light golden, about four to five minutes. Add the squashed tomatoes in the bowl, oregano and sugar. Bring to a slow simmer, loosely cover (steam must be allowed to escape), and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in the basil and cook one minute more.
Purée the sauce in a blender or food processor, or right in the pot with an immersion blender. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper. The sauce is now ready to use. It could also be cooled and saved for another time. Refrigerate for up to three days. The sauce could also frozen for up to three months.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section on Wednesday and Sunday.
