It’s like… what won’t I put between two slices of grilled bread?
Well. I won’t put cake between grilled bread. I promise to never put cookie dough between grilled bread (though… wait, is that sounding good to anyone else?). I won’t ever smash pie and grilled bread together. Ice cream. Nope.
I will, however, try to smash every comforting savory food I can think of into a sandwich. Yesterday: Spinach and Artichoke Dip. Today: Lasagna. Tomorrow: I think I just heard someone whisper ‘Taco’ in my ear. Whoa.
I can’t deal… I’ll just eat it all.
Let’s talk about ingredients. This is the part where we always talk about ingredients.
Bright tomato and creamy ricotta are the essence of lasagna. These are critical ingredients. For added flavor we’re adding fresh basil, salt, pepper and butter. Mozzarella cheese work as cheesy glue and as an extra layer of delicious! Let’s sandwich!
If we’re eating big fat slices of bread, it might as well be really good big fat slices of bread. This seeded loaf had my name all over it.
Ricotta!
I could easily scoop ricotta straight from the container and into my face, but kicking this sandwich up with some extra lasagna-ish ingredients is always a good idea.
Here we’re seasoning our ricotta with fresh basil, salt and pepper. Easy! Add oregano and/or crushed red pepper flakes if you’re feeling like teacher’s pet.
Let the layering begin!
Bread is topped with mozzarella cheese. Smashed (I used canned) cherry tomatoes are placed on top of the cheese. Sprinkle salt. Sprinkle pepper. You know!
Between the tomato seeds and the bread seeds, I can’t see straight. I love it.
Our other half of bread is dolloped generously with seasoned ricotta.
This sandwich looks so good before grilling that you might want to stop here.
Warming the sandwich can only make it better. You know what to do…
One side browns, and then the other.
It’s the order of things.
It’s natural for the mozzarella to soften and melt. It’s natural for the ricotta to spread. It’s natural for the tomatoes is squeeze out of the sides. It’s natural to eat this sandwich whole while standing over the grill pan.
Ps. I’m on a grilled cheese bender. Search results prove it!
Pps. Add Pickle Fries! Think about it…
Lasagna Grilled Cheese
makes 2 sandwiches
4 slices of bread that you love
2 tablespoons unsalted butter with a dash of olive oil
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
one 14-ounce can cherry tomatoes (you’ll have extra tomatoes left over)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
extra salt and pepper for seasoning
Lay out bread slices.
In a medium skillet or nonstick pan, melt butter over medium-low heat.
In a small bowl stir together ricotta, basil, salt and pepper.
Top each slice of bread with a bit of mozzarella cheese. Top two of the bread slices with a few smashed cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. On the remaining two slices of bread, dollop and spread the ricotta cheese.
Combine the sandwich halves and place in the warmed skillet. Grill on each side until golden. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 3 minutes before slicing in half and serving. Dang that’s good!
ash
HEY don’t knock ice cream and bread (: Over here, we’ve got local push carts that sell mini scoops of multi-flavoured ice cream (usually chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and sweet corn for each scoop) encased in large slices of pastel coloured, soft white bread. Sooooooo satisfying.
Rebecca @ http://theambitioustraveller.wordpress.com/
This looks amazing!!!!
Nori
shut. up.
i want to eat my screen!
Ellen
It should be a crime to put something that tantalizing in my face when it is too late to go to the store.
Or maybe it should just be a crime that my home has no bread and cheese right now. Yeah, that’s the real crime.
Julia
Yummo, one of my favourite things on a toastie (thats what we call a grilled cheese in New Zealand) is Avocado, cheese and black pepper :)
Rachel
Oh this is so happening. a) because it looks delicious. and b) because mozzarella and ricotta are two cheeses I can actually eat; usually I can’t er grilled cheese.
In other news, cookie dough between bread? Stuffed French Toast. Just saying.
Jenna
I too think you should reconsider your stance on the dessert toasted sandwich – some toasted brioche with roasted strawberries & ricotta (or creme fraiche, mmm) perhaps? Or banana & chocolate chips in a toasted bagel sandwich with some vanilla icecream added in at the end? So many delicious options! You can have a lasagna grilled cheese followed by a dessert toasted sandwich for the perfect meal. Man, I’m so hungry now!
meg
omg. omg. omg. keep making the grilled cheese! awesomeness
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Wow – now THAT’S a sandwich! I love the little tomatoes and the gorgeous seedy loaf to begin with – and the cheese can only make it even better!
Sarah
It’s like a grilled cheese, but also a lasagna, so I guess you win the Internet?
Nicole
I’m here to second the cookie dough idea. This one looks so good, I make a similar sandwich (ok, maybe not similar at all) with fromage blanc, strawberries, basil, and balsamic.
Renee @ Awesome on $20
I’ve been trying to talk my husband into doing a series called “Things English People Put Between Two Slices of Bread.” It’s astonishing. Accompanied by a glossary of all the different words they use for sandwich in Northern England. I hope I can make this happen. It won’t be as beautiful as this sandwich, though.
Michael
Lasagna is one of my favorite dishes, but this dish is next level. I’m very excited to try and make it the same way. Cheers
Jennifer
Y.E.S. to all of that, right there. YUM!
violeta
cookie dough in between grilled bread sounds good to me too!
and you won’t put ice cream in between grilled bread?! come on!!! ice cream sandwiches are like one of the best things ever!