Yesterday, most of the Northeast had a snow day and was craving a tomato sandwich with cheese. My wife, Christine and I stayed inside all day, worked on some projects and did a lot of relaxing. It reminded me of how much I loved snow days in upstate Vermont when I was a kid. Sometimes, one snow day would turn into two or three if there was a particularly bad blizzard. One of my best memories of having the day off was my Mom making us something yummy. Meatloaf, Kraft macaroni and cheese, tuna grinders or grilled cheese sandwiches. I assure you nothing healthy was eaten, but boy oh boy they sure did taste good! Times have changed for me and I rarely eat this way anymore, but when I do I try to make it as tasty as possible while still maintaining some semblance of health.
Here is what I made yesterday, a Mediterranean version of my Mom’s grilled cheese tomato sandwich. First off, I use olive oil instead of butter. With the added oregano, this creates a flavor as delicious as butter. With the addition of tomato, there isn’t as big a need for a lot of cheese. This makes for a low calorie grilled sandwich that has all the flavor of my Mom’s grilled cheese sandwich, with a sophisticated taste of the Mediterranean. We served this with a simple salad with baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and a dijon vinaigrette. Thank goodness for snow days!
Check out this other great comfort food recipe for Moussaka!
Provolone and Tomato Sandwich Grilled in Olive Oil
Ingredients
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 slices 100% whole wheat bread
- 2 thin slices provolone cheese
- 1-2 thin slices beefsteak tomato
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- In a skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Place a slice of bread in the middle of the skillet. Press down and slide bread around so olive oil gets on as much of the bread as possible.
- Top bread with cheese and tomato. Cover with 2nd slice of bread. Cook until bottom slice begins to brown. Lift up sandwich with a spatula. Add the other teaspoon of oil and oregano to the skillet. Flip sandwich and grill the 2nd side until bread is a golden brown. Serve while warm.
Nutrition
About the Author: Bill Bradley, R.D.
Turned out fantastic! I used sprouted multi grain bread, and added spinach to the sandwich. Very versatile and very good. I paired it with a plate of hummus and veggies.
This is easy and good, nothing wrong with that combo.