Zucchini Pesto Grilled Cheese
To balance the melty richness of the three cheeses in this sandwich, Carly Groben of Prairie Canary Restaurant uses thinly sliced zucchini and homemade pesto. The result is crisper and fresher than the traditional grilled cheese. Watch a video about the Prairie Canary's Zucchini Pesto Grilled Cheese on our YouTube channel.
Ingredients
FOR THE GRILLED ZUCCHINI
- 1 small zucchini
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
FOR THE GRILLED CHEESES
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened and creamed
- Homemade sandwich bread substitute hearty white bread from the grocery store if you don’t make your own bread
- 2 slices Wisconsin Mild Brick Cheese by Widmer's Cheese Cellars
- 2 slices Prairie Breeze by Milton Creamery
- 2 slices Swiss Cheese from Swiss Valley Farms
- 2 tablespoons homemade basil pesto
Instructions
- Remove the stem of the zucchini and thinly slice it. Season the slices with salt and pepper to taste and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the zucchini slices with olive oil and broil for 1-2 minutes, until tender and slightly charred.
- Smear the butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Layer the cheeses and grilled zucchini onto each slice of bread and top with a smear of the homemade pest.
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the sandwiches on the griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom slice of bread is crisp and brown. Flip the sandwiches and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Plate the sandwiches and serve with a tomato soup or a cold IPA or both.
Kate Edeker
Kate is currently in the Publishing & Writing MA program at Emerson College. While in undergraduate, she spent time working in the kitchen of a Mediterranean restaurant, where she fell deeply and permanently in love with the culinary world. And if you're making a grilled cheese sandwich, she encourages goat cheese with raspberry jam on the top.
