Pizza grilled cheese

An extraordinarily delicious culinary mash-up!

It seems I am saying something quite often in my kitchen these days, which is “why didn’t I think of this before?” Tucking pizza toppings inside a grilled cheese sandwich is such a simple yet stellar idea and I know it’s an experiment I will be repeating extremely often. As with traditional pizza, you can easily vary the fillings to suit your preferences, but I would recommend sticking with the ratios provided below so you get a sandwich that holds together well. If you’re looking for a few other inventive ways to enjoy the perennially-popular flavours of pizza, check out my pizza biscuits, pizza-stuffed portobellos, pizza muffins or my pizza cobbler.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (62 g) grated mozzarella
• 1/2 cup (57 g) minced green pepper
• 2 tablespoons (4 g) minced sweet or green onion
• 1/2 cup (75 g) minced pepperoni
• 1/3 cup (90 mL) pizza sauce
• 4 teaspoons (19 g) softened butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 slices bread (regular or gluten-free)
• additional pizza sauce for dipping (optional)

Method

• Prepare the sandwich filling up to 24 hours in advance. In a bowl, combine the mozzarella, green pepper (or other minced vegetables), onion, pepperoni and pizza sauce. Stir to blend well then refrigerate until ready to cook sandwiches.
• In a small bowl, stir together softened butter and garlic powder. Set aside.
• When ready to make sandwiches, spread the garlic butter on the outsides of the bread slices. Lay two slices in a large frying pan, butter sides down. Spread half of the pizza filling on each slice of bread, then press remaining two bread slices on top.
• Fry the sandwiches over medium heat, turning once very carefully, until both sides are golden brown and the cheese has melted.
• Slice in half and serve with a small bowl of pizza sauce for dipping, if desired.

Makes 2 sandwiches; recipe can easily be multiplied.