Grilled Cheese with Corn and Calabrian Chile

By sandy_h

From Food & Wine July 2020

Cheese filling mixture can be made up to 3 days in advance, covered, and stored in refrigerator.

Wine pairing: Ripe Southern Italian red- 2017 Tormaresca Torcicoda Primitivo

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh corn kernels
• 3 oz English-style cheddar cheese (such as Keen's), shredded (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 oz caciocavallo cheese or provolone cheese, shredded (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
• 1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
• 1 medium-size jarred Calabrian chile, stemmed and finely chopped (about 2 tsp)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter (3 oz), softened
• 12 (1/3-inch-thick) sourdough bread slices

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget

Preparation

Step 1

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high until smoking. Add corn kernels, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and charred in spots, about 3 minutes. Transfer corn to a large bowl, and let cool 10 minutes. Wipe out skillet, and set aside.

Step 2

Add cheddar, mayonnaise, caciocavallo, shallot, scallions, chile, salt, and garlic to corn; stir to combine. Spread butter on one side of each bread slice. Place 6 bread slices, buttered sides down, on a piece of parchment paper, and top evenly with cheese mixture (about 1/3 cup each); spread cheese mixture in an even layer. Top with remaining bread slices, buttered sides up.

Step 3

Head cast-iron skillet over medium. Working in batches, cook sandwiches until golden brown and toasted, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve immediately.