Grown-Up Grilled Cheese, Plus A Fresh Side Salad Of Greens

I decided to do grown-up grilled cheese this month because it’s a fun spin on an old family classic. The sandwiches are based off of a recipe that I made when I was about 9, so they felt really kid-friendly to me.

I know that you’re probably thinking: What does a fourteen year old know about being grown-up? Nothing, really, so I guess this recipe should be called What a Kid Thinks Is Grown-Up Grilled Cheese. Regardless, it’s delicious no matter what age you are.

Since it’s spring, I also included a bonus mini-recipe for a fresh side salad of greens. I hope you and your family enjoy making this grilled cheese as much as my little brother and I did — and hopefully this recipe inspires your little youngsters to start cooking with you as well. Happy cooking!

INGREDIENTS

For the Pesto

¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
4 ½ cups basil
¼ cup parsley
2 Tbsp (6 cloves) garlic
salt & pepper
1 cup parmesan cheese

For the Sandwich (per sandwich)

2 slices crusty white bread
2 slices unsalted mozzarella
3 slices pancetta
1 slice beefsteak tomato
3 tsp butter

DIRECTIONS

To make the pesto: Blend the pine nuts, walnuts, and garlic in a food processor for 20 seconds. Add the basil parsley, salt, and pepper; blend for around 2 minutes. Keeping the processor on, drizzle in the olive oil 1/4 cup at a time. If you’d like the sauce to be thinner, add up to 1/4 cup more oil. Finally, add the parmesan, 1/3 cup at a time, pulsing several times in between each round.

For the sandwich, melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a heated skillet. Spread another teaspoon of butter on one side of two pieces of bread. Spread pesto on the other side of one piece only. Sizzle both pieces of bread in pan, butter side down, until they’re crispy.

Layer the mozzarella, tomato, and pancetta on the pesto-ed bread and cover with the other piece of bread. (So the fried sides of bread should now be on the outside.) Cook the sandwich until the cheese is melted, either on the skillet, in the microwave, or under a salamander or broiler. Voila!

Bonus: Spring Greens Side Salad
Combine 2 cups baby romaine, 2 cups baby spinach, and 2 cups baby arugula with 2 thinly sliced apples. Make citrus vinaigrette (my favorite!) by combining ½ cup olive oil, ½ cup balsamic vinaigrette, the juice of ½ an orange, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, and 1 to 1½ Tbsp white sugar. Mix dressing well and drizzle across greens.

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