Are tomatoes and cheese the new peanut butter and jelly? If you lived with me, you'd probably think so! After I made the delectable beer macaroni and cheese with tomato jam and caramelized onions last month, I was left with a lot more tomato jam to use. So why mess with a good thing — cheese, tomato jam, and a carb as a vehicle for both? Which leaves us where we are headed today, into the kitchen to make a tomato jam grilled cheese sandwich.
If you did not make the tomato and caramelized onion jam last month, go back and make a batch, then come back to this recipe. Or if you have tomato jam from somewhere else on hand, it can be used here too. Onion jams would also be fantastic here if you have a jar from a craft show or a friend sitting around waiting for the perfect sandwich to be spread upon.
The Other Ingredients
Since there are very few ingredients that comprise this sandwich, use the highest quality ones you have available for the best grilled cheese experience.
I used Nature's Own Butterbread which may not be the best bread there ever was, but it has a good surface area, and it's a nice plain vehicle for the stuff inside — the best parts.
Then I used Duke's mayo for the exterior parts of the bread, and a chive Cotswold cheese end from Lowe's Foods. I love that I have grocery stores around here that sell cheese ends now. It's a basket in the deli cheese area of the store with pieces and thick slices of cheese, usually around the size of a fist or a little smaller. These "ends" are too small to be sold by the ounce, but too big to throw away, and they are perfect for trying out new cheeses without a big investment. Or in this case, it's perfect for using them on a few sandwiches without buying a ton of the same cheese!
There's very little butter used here, so don't feel like you have to splurge on a European variety, unless you already do that. I want to be you one day, if you regularly use European butter for everyday use.
Tomato Jam Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 slices white bread
- 4 teaspoons mayonnaise
- ½ tablespoon butter
- 4 ounces shredded or thinly sliced cheese
- 2 tablespoons tomato jam
Instructions
- Spread the mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread, set aside.
- Melt half of the butter over medium heat in a small saute pan. Once melted, spread around the pan and put one piece of bread, mayo side down, into the butter.
- Spoon half of the tomato jam onto the plain side of the bread and spread out evenly.
- Add half of the cheese over the jam, spread out evenly.
- Add the second piece of bread, mayonnaise side up. Let cook for another minute or until bottom begins to turn golden brown. Carefully flip the sandwich and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Flip the sandwich again if you desire more browning on the first side. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Repeat the process for the second sandwich using the remaining ingredients. Cut into triangles and serve hot.
I've made these sandwiches three times before writing this post, but I still have a decent amount of tomato jam left, so I've got my eye on these tomato jam and cheese palmiers. Perhaps after that, another one of these sandwiches but with a goat cheese spread instead of shredded cheddar. Mmm, maybe that'll be sooner.
How do you like to use tomato jam?