Grilled Gruyère and Red Onion Sandwiches
Sometimes the trouble with dinner, is that you want someone else to do it. And it’s not necessarily because you are bone-tired and can’t stomach the idea of standing at the stove. It’s because after a day in the world, you crave the feeling of someone else caring for you.
There is some kind of break in the time-space continuum that allows grilled cheese sandwiches, even when made by you, to be as comforting as if made by someone else.
This recipe, from Fresh Food Fast, is a grown-up take on the classic, but one cold night, with the bite of winter still in the air, we still ate them alongside bowls of sweet, creamy tomato soup. Some habits die hard. Meanwhile, my library copy of Fresh Food Fast has been a lifesaver these past few weeks. The recipes are organized by season and paired off into menus, so that each page serves a complete, well-rounded meal, saving you from any “what should I serve this with?”guess work when creativity is running low.
This recipe is adapted to serve two rather than four, but it resulted in a rather lot of onions. You could probably only use one onion and be golden.
Grilled Gruyere and Red Onion Sandwiches
adapted from Fresh Food Fast
Serves 2
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium red onions, sliced into 1/4-inch rings (about 2 cups)
4 sliced country sourdough bread, preferably with some rye in it
whole grain mustard
1/4 pound Gruyère cheese, thinly sliced or grated
In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter and add the oil. Add the onions and sauté until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer onions to a plate.
Spread each piece of bread with mustard and divide the onions among 2 of the slices. Top the onions with cheese and place a slice of bread on top to form 2 sandwiches.
Return the skillet to medium heat and add the sandwiches. Place a skillet or large plate over the sandwiches and put a heavy object on top. Fry the sandwiches until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Drain the sandwiches on paper towels, then transfer them to a cutting board and cut in half. Serve immediately.
Margaret: I totally get the ‘break in the time-space continuum’ comment, since I often have that feeling these days of wanting to be cared for, but having to rely on myself. Grilled cheese… puts me in mind of when I was living in Istanbul with a boyfriend and we collaborated on a version of these- grilled cheese, mustard, onions, and sliced turkey. We celebrated it with the name ‘Super Duper’ and then adapted it to the context- cold and raw would be ‘Soguk Duper’ (Cold Duper) and grilled and sauteed– what we usually did– was called ‘Sicak Duper’ (Hot Duper).
1 year ago
I should make your version here and create another good memory. Does Le Grilled Cheese ever stop giving??
No, I don’t think it does! It’s funny you should share that story Margaret because I have a very strong boyfriend and grilled cheese memory, too! I love the idea of adding turkey to this.1 year ago
Kristina Strain: This is shockingly similar to a sandwich known to be served at our house, in the height of summer. We call it Green Bean Panini. I bet you can guess the secret ingredient! Aside from that, it’s pretty much the exact same recipe, mustard, red onions and all. Looks yummy.1 year ago
Cadi: There’s something magical about grilled cheese isn’t there? We make decidedly grown-up versions filled with grilled chicken, or bacon, maybe sun dried tomatoes, amazing mustard, arugula… with various cheeses in the drawer and a really great country or seeded sourdough bread you can never go wrong.
My everlasting favorite though is always the sharpest of cheddar cheeses on sourdough bread, buttered on the outside and pan toasted to melty golden perfection. And with tomato soup? There’s nothing better.1 year ago
Katy: I think the thing about a grilled cheese that allows for its eternal magical-saving powers is that it’s warm, gooey and, best of all, it’s all packed between two crunchy pieces of bread. It’s so easy it hardly feels like work, yet so rewarding! I also can’t help but feel that its connection to our childhood memories partly adds to the appeal; when I was sick with the flu about a month ago, all I kept craving was tomato soup and a grilled cheese…when I finally got better, it was basically the first thing I made. Needless to say, it was oh so good and hit the spot. But I think my version could use some fancy-ing up, so thank you for the inspiration, Sarah!1 year ago
Kanesha: This is absolutely delightful, Sarah.
I had a mini-fiasco with grilled cheeses this past weekend.
My kids wanted grilled cheeses on Saturday, but we were out of bread, so, what to do? Quesadillas! We used Gruyere, rice cheese (for the little guy), bacon and lime zest. They were happily impressed – especially with me using the pizza cutter on the quesadillas.1 year ago
Shiv: Anything else you could use in place of the mustard as I’m not really a mustard fan…?1 year ago
Mmm…I love all this romantic rhapsodizing about grilled cheese! As for not liking mustard, Shiv, you could try mayo or aoli or just leave it off altogether or spread a little extra butter on the outside of the bread.1 year ago
Carrie: You should also check out Jack Bishop’s “A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen”. Arranged seasonally and most of the recipes take 30 min or less to put together. All I’ve tried have been wonderful! I’ll have to see if I can find “Fresh Food Fast” at my library. I checked it out once a while ago but wasn’t too into it at the time (had lots of extra time for cooking back then). Now I could really use it!1 year ago
Nancy Schaub: This sounds wonderful. Talk about comfort food. Yum. I am wondering how caramelizing the onions might work….. and thinking about adding turkey. The tomato soup makes it a perfect meal. Thinking of the turkey with the Gruyere reminds me of a trip home from England when we got turkey and Gruyere sandwiches. The illegal food sniffing Beagles were out in force with the DEA bandanas and were very interested in one lady’s tote bag – turns out she had not eaten her sandwich but had put it in her tote bag and the sweet Beagle decided she had earned it. She pulled that bag right off the owner’s arm and alerted – but it was not illegal at all. Just a hungry dog.1 year ago
Nancy Schaub: I love mustard and have been known to mix it with a little lite mayo and use that on the outside of the bread instead of butter. Browns up nicely and adds a bit of zing to the bread.1 year ago
sara: I made this for dinner last night, and it was so yummy! Thanks for the awesome recipe!1 year ago
Carrie, I am looking that book up RIGHT NOW! Thank you for the recommendation.
And Nancy, what a funny story. I love the idea of putting mustard and mayo on the outside of the bread. Caramelizing the onions would of course be amazing, but would also take a bit longer.
So glad you liked it, Carrie!1 year ago
Heather: This sounds delicious, I love mustard on grilled cheese! I’ve got The Flexitarian Table right now, by the same author, it’s a great cookbook too.1 year ago
Sarah from Sydney: Hi Sarah, i’ve been reading (and loving) your blog for a while now and I just HAD to comment on this… toasted oniony-cheese sambos and tomato soup is my ultimate single girl dinner no matter the season! Now, no longer single, whenever my boyfriend isn’t home for dinner I happily feast on tommy-soup & cheesy toast.
Sarah x1 year ago