It is my understanding that every food blogger must at some point commit a post to a cheese sandwich. This is one of my favourites.
Okay, okay, it's not really grilled, it's panfried in a skillet. We called these "toasted cheese sandwiches" when I was a kid. You could absolutely grill it, though.
In my mind, I invented this recipe, a natural outgrowth of my favourite childhood cheddar-and-pickle relish (non-grilled) sandwiches, but honestly I was not at all surprised to discover that plenty of other people had already invented it. It's a winning combination and, if not original, utterly delicious and well deserving of widespread enjoyment.
You make it exactly as you think you do:
Grilled Cheddar & Mango Chutney Sandwich
2 slices sandwich-type bread
Sufficient aged cheddar cheese to cover at least one of the bread slices
Sufficient mango chutney (I prefer the spicy version) to cover (thinly) one of the bread slices
butter
You may wish to finely chop any extra-large pieces of mango in your chutney, for ease of eating.
Assemble the sandwich exactly how you'd expect by spreading one of the slices of bread with chutney, covering the chutney with cheese, covering the cheese with the other slice of bread. Butter the outside slices of bread, and fry the sandwich over medium-high heat until golden, then (carefully) flip and repeat.
Serve with soup. Again from my childhood, a Simple Tomato Soup (recipe in the comments below) is a clear winner. But might I also suggest a Mulligatawny, or Brown Lentil & Tomato Soup?
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Soup Recipe!
Simple Tomato Soup
Serves 2 - 4
Total prep and cooking time: 30 - 40 minutes
1 1/2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
500 mL vegetable stock
400 mL canned diced tomatoes with juices
1/2 cup white vermouth or dry wine (white or red)
salt as needed
pinch of allspice (important!)
Heat olive oil and butter together in a medium-sized soup pot over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted and become foamy, add the garlic and onion. Stir and allow to sauté for a few minutes, or until onion is slightly translucent. Throw in the bay leaf, white pepper and tomato paste, and stir through, allowing the tomato paste to cook for about 30 seconds. Add the vermouth, and stir well, scraping up any bits that might be sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add the stock and the diced tomatoes, bring to a bare simmer, and let simmer for 15 minutes at medium heat, or 30 minutes on low heat. Taste the liquid, and add allspice (easy does it) and salt if necessary. Turn off heat. Remove the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to blitz the soup smooth in the pot, or carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender (never more than half-fill your blender at a time, or it will explode all over your kitchen) and purée until smooth.
Variations
Cream of Tomato Soup – reduce amount of stock to 400 mL, and add 125 mL (1/2 cup) of cold whipping cream with a pinch of cornstarch stirred through it. If needed, re-warm gently over low heat
Tomato Basil Soup – add 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves with the tomato paste, and stir in 1/4 cup of finely shredded fresh basil just before serving. Alternately, simply stir two tablespoons (or to taste) of prepared basil pesto into the soup just before serving.
Hearty Tomato Soup – add 1/4 cup dry red lentils (well rinsed under running water) and 1/2 cup water with the stock.
Tomato Vegetable Soup – add 1 1/2 cups of raw vegetables, diced small, after blending the soup. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes longer: corn, bell pepper, celery, zucchini are all good. Try a little fresh parsley at the end, to give it some freshness.
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