Mozzarella & Broccoli Rabe Grilled Cheese served with a tomato salad with tarragon
My Mozzarella & Broccoli Rabe Grilled Cheese is as Italian as a traditional American grilled cheese sandwich will ever get. I remember seeing this combination of ingredients on a menu while traveling through Italy and quickly made a note to myself to recreate this appealing dish at home. Tender, leafy broccoli rabe sautéed and then sandwiched in between two whole wheat bread slices: one coated with mustard and the other mozzarella cheese. Cooked in melted butter to achieve the perfect crunchy crust, questo panino è unica, ricca e assolutamente delizioso.
Sautéing the broccoli rabe in olive oil
Mustard coating one slice of the bread, cheese and broccoli rabe on the other
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
A Truly Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of broccoli rabe, ends trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces, then washed and dried
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 slices of whole wheat bread
- Dijon mustard
- 8 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese, cut into ¼ inch slices
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions:
- In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes over medium-high heat. Add in the broccoli rabe, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the broccoli rabe is tender and wilted. Remove the cooked broccoli rabe from the pan and squeeze it as dry as you can to prevent the sandwich from becoming soggy.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spread some Dijon mustard on one slice of bread per sandwich. Place the cheese slices on the other slice of bread. Top the cheese slices with the cooked broccoli rabe, and then place the mustard-coated bread slice on top of that slice of bread.
- Cook 1 sandwich at a time by melting 1 Tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, flipping the sandwich halfway through cooking, for 1 minute per side. Place the sandwich on a small baking sheet in the oven and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the cheese sufficiently melted. Cut in half and serve warm.
Tagged: broccoli rabee, grilled cheese, Italian, mozzarella cheese, rapini, sandwich
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