There are a lot of great things about summer break: no classes, reuniting with friends and family, and showering without shoes. However, one thing I missed dearly about Wesleyan over the past three months was the heavenly grilled cheese sandwiches from the Whey Station. On more than one occasion, I caught myself drooling on my desk at my internship while daydreaming about the delicately buttered, crispy slices of bread blanketed with warm, gooey cheese. I longed for the classic blend of five cheeses in the Monger, the sugary fig garlic jam in the Ella, and the spicy truck-made chipotle sauce that I put on just about everything.
After a brief period of minor depression induced by the absence of grilled cheese, I decided to attempt to fill the Whey Station truck-shaped hole in my heart with the recipe for a grilled fontina and blackberry basil smash sandwich I stumbled upon online. Despite being a self-proclaimed cheese connoisseur, I had never tasted fontina cheese. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the mixture of sweet fresh fruit and savory herbs with this strong, hard cheese, and it was absolutely phenomenal.
The use of mashed fresh blackberries mixed with chopped basil gave the sandwich a gourmet quality. I ended up making this sandwich over and over throughout the summer, as it became a mildly famous hit among my friends and family. Of course, my personal creation didn’t quite live up to the legendary status of the Whey Station, but this grilled cheese definitely held me over until my glorious return to my favorite food truck.
Blackberry and Basil Smash Grilled Cheese
Recipe adapted from www.howsweeteats.com
Ingredients
2 slices bread of your choice
3-4 oz. blackberries
3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2-3 oz. sliced fontina cheese
2 tbsp. olive oil
Directions
1. Using a fork, mash blackberries in a bowl (be careful of splattering!) and stir in chopped basil.
2. Brush some olive oil on one side of one slice of bread. Lay a few (or more) slices of fontina cheese on the other side of the slice.
3. Coat the cheese with a few spoonfuls of the blackberry basil smash and top with the other slice of bread, brushing olive oil on the outside of the slice.
4. Grill the sandwich over medium-low heat, cooking each side for about 4-5 minutes.
5. Remove carefully and dig in to your masterpiece!