Curry Elvis Cooks - Fusion Cuisine Recipes and Food Philosophy

I love taking traditional faves and making healthy substitutions. What's better is when the result is actually palatable. Too many North Americans associate healthy eating with tastelessness. After several years of having to at least try healthy alternatives, I've started to find a bit of a groove. So, I was thrilled to come up with a yummy variation of a grilled cheese sandwich.

Ingredients

• Bread - 2 slices of 7-grain or multigrain.
• Butter or margarine (butter's healthier), softened at room temperature.
• Cheese - Swiss or Mozarella - sliced to fit two layers of cheese on the bread.
• Onion, diced or slivered - 1-2 tbsps [optional]. You can use a regular onion or substitute red onion. Best results for fine slivers rather than dice.
• Roasted red peppers - one piece (bottle or can). Slice the pepper open so that it is flat. Cut in half lengthwise if necesary to fit on the bread later. Shake off any excess liquid.
• Cucumber or pickled dills - 1 or 2 very thin slices [optional]. If using pickle slices, shake off any excess liquid.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Onion chip dip [optional].

Preparation

• Set to heat med high. Heat up a skillet, griddle, or some large cast iron pan. (Try to avoid aluminum and non-stick pans. Non-stick doesn't grill as well, and excess alumninum consumption has been shown to either cause or aggravate Alzheimer's.)
• Spread butter or margarine on the outside of both slices of bread (like you would with a regular grill cheese). Place both slices butter side down on the hot skillet.
• Within 30 sec - 1 min, layer the cheese on one slice, as for a regular grill cheese sandwich, then cover with the other slice.
• When the bottom slice of bread has crisped and is brown, flip the stack over. If you prefer the onions [optional] to be a bit cooked, pull open the sandwich now, loosely spread the onions on the cheese, and close the sandwich.
• When both sides are brown, turn off the heat and pull open the two slices. If you haven't already done so, loosely spread the onion slivers, if desired. Layer the roasted red pepper (and cucumber, if using).
• Shake salt and pepper on, then top with the final slice.
• Cut sandwich in half or quarters and serve.
• Variations: Feel free to place tomato slices on the sandwich. However, in my experience, placing too many "wet" items on a grilled cheese sandwich ruins its taste.

Presentation
Serve with a hot or cold soup. If serving by itself, add a dollop of onion chip dip to the plate for dipping the sandwich in.

(c) Copyright 2005, Raj Kumar Dash, curryelviscooks.blogspot.com