Prosciutto, Pesto and Sun-dried Tomato Grilled Cheese

Sometimes I want a supper so simple that it appeals to my inner child. But most of the time, when I'm craving something simple, I still want it to feel a bit more grown up. Enter Prosciutto, Pesto, and Sun-dried Tomato grilled cheese, which I adapted from a recipe in Make It Super Simple With G. Garvin.


My version of this recipe fuses together classic Italian ingredients (except for the distinctly un-Italian sandwich bread) into something that comes together fast. That's the nature of grilled cheese, I suppose, but this is much tastier than a processed cheese slice sandwiched between bread slices. You'd do well to use ciabatta or focaccia instead of the generic sandwich bread; it's what I have on hand and I'm trying to use it up.



Prosciutto, Pesto and Sun-dried Tomato Grilled Cheese
Makes 1 sandwich -- multiply accordingly!

-2 slices of bread -- focaccia, or a ciabatta bun, or if you're stuck, like me, plain old sandwich bread
-About 1 tbsp of pesto
-2 or 3 sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed or not, julienned (now, this is grilled cheese, so don't worry about making perfect little matchsticks--just slice them small enough that you won't bite off a big chunk of sun-dried tomato by mistake)
-A slice of mozzarella cheese, or a handful of shredded mozzarella
-1 or 2 thin slices of prosciutto
-Softened butter

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Spread opposite side of each slice of bread with pesto. Lay one slice of bread on a plate, buttered-side down. Arrange prosciutto, cheese, and tomatoes on bread. Top with the second slice of bread (buttered side up this time). Cook about 5 minutes or until golden brown, turning once.