For this grown-up take on grilled cheese, I layer roasted portobello mushrooms and onions on crusty Italian bread, then smother the vegetables with three types of cheese (mozzarella, cream cheese and ricotta). These hearty sandwiches go great with a side of shoestring fries.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 portobello mushroom caps, halved
- 1 sweet onion, thickly sliced
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 slices crusty Italian bread
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese
- 8 tablespoons ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 slices
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, toss the mushroom caps and onion slices with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the mushrooms are tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
- While the mushrooms cook, prepare the remaining ingredients. Brush or drizzle the remaining olive oil onto one side of each slice of bread.
- Turn all the slices over. Spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese onto 4 slices of bread, and spread 2 tablespoons ricotta onto the other 4 slices.
- To assemble the sandwiches, layer the roasted mushrooms and onions on the ricotta-slathered slices of bread (use 4 mushroom halves and 4 onion rounds per sandwich). Place 3 slices of fresh mozzarella over the vegetables, then top with a slice of cream-cheese-slathered bread.
- Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet, and bake until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown, 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cut in half and serve warm.
Facebook Comments Box
