Get Some Tomato Paste on a Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Concentrated foods, whether soups, spreads, or powders, are some of my favorite ingredients to work with. Once you become familiar with their scale and strength, you can thin them down as little or as much as you like. In the case of tomato paste, you can make soup , sauce , or smoothies without any additional tomato products, but you can also use it as a bright, flavorful accent for a grilled cheese sandwich.

Tomatoes and cheese are the perfect pair. You’ll find them over pizza, caprese salads, and pasta bowls, but there’s something uniquely homely and comforting about a simple tomato soup and butter-grilled cheese sandwich. Pungent tomato and gooey cheese compete for dominance so neither flavor lingers on the tongue for too long, keeping you coming back for more. I don’t always have tomato soup, but I never go without a can of tomato paste.

I could use the pasta to make soup, or I could just spread it on a sandwich. I’ve spread tomato paste on the inside of a grilled cheese sandwich and spread it on the outside of a grilled cheese sandwich, and both options have their benefits.

Spread tomato paste on the outside of grilled cheese for a soft, melting treat.

Do you know the part of the pizza where the crust meets the inside of the pie? It is dark red, almost burnt, but soft and sweet. This is the taste and texture you get when you spread tomato paste on the outside of a sandwich. The pasta caramelizes—and will burn if you’re not careful—and the excess moisture evaporates rather than toasting the bread, creating a soft piece with a thin tomato layer that isn’t firm enough to be called a “crust.” ” although it offers the slightest resistance when biting.

Start by applying a teaspoon of the paste to the “outside” of each slice of bread. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the first piece of bread pasta side down. Add a couple of slices of your favorite melted cheese – I like white American, but shredded mozzarella would be more interesting – and place the second piece pasta-side up on top of the cheese.

Keep a close eye on this sandwich, looking under it every minute or so until you start noticing little burnt spots. Lift the sandwich from the pan, add a little more butter, then flip it back into the pan and cook until the pasta is dark and the cheese is completely melted. Consume immediately.

Brush the tomato paste on the inside of the fried cheese to maximize flavor and crispness.

Spreading tomato paste on the outside of grilled cheese creates a sandwich with a certain quirkiness, but the bread becomes soft and tender, and some people can’t eat the sandwich unless it makes a “t-t-t-t-t-t-t” sound when you eat it. run the knife over its surface. vertex. (Such is the influence of TikTok.)

If you’re the latter, don’t despair: you can still enjoy this streamlined treat. Start by adding two tablespoons of pasta to a non-stick skillet along with a dab of olive oil. Cook over medium heat until the paste has darkened and is a shade or two, then brush it onto the inside of one slice of sandwich bread. Prepare and grill the cheese as usual. For me, that means lots of butter and no mayonnaise . (I like mayonnaise almost every time, but the grilled cheese sandwich isn’t one of them.)

You get a fried cheese sandwich that’s crispy, buttery on the outside and sticky and melted on the inside, with a layer of tangy caramelized tomato soup-like flavor without any dipping. Although you can of course soak if you want. There is nothing wrong with doubling the number of tomatoes.