One family vacation, we went skiing in Park City. I’m not a big skier but I do love all the hoopla around it. Especially the après-ski. I still have the taste memory of the best grilled sandwich I’ve ever eaten. And the way it was made stuck with me forever.
The key? Instead of slices of bread, I butter the inside of soft ciabatta rolls (from Costco, no less) and flip it so the outside of the sandwich is really the inside.
Talk about turning grilled cheese on its head.
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Trust me, flipping the roll makes such a difference. The outside is crispy but the inside has kind of a melty crunch that is soooo. darn. good.
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Gather the ingredients
The first step is to make homemade garlic bread, and then flip it to be on the outside and then grill it, stuffed with cheese.
Here’s what you’ll need to do it:
Essential grilled cheese tools
Cast iron skillet. The ultimate non-stick pan, a cast iron skillet conducts heat evenly without sticking to toast the sandwich and melt the cheese perfectly.
A lid wide enough to cover the skillet.
Crispy grilled cheese: step by step
Yield. This recipe makes enough for two garlic bread grilled cheese sandwiches
Make the garlic bread spread
This spread for garlic bread is the same one used in my quick and easy ciabatta garlic bread recipe.
- Timing. 1 hour before you want to eat.
- Make ahead. Yes! You can roast the garlic and make the whole spread up to 3 days ahead.
- Trim the top of a head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and wrap in foil. Place in a small baking dish and roast for 30 minutes at 400˚. Check out my roasted garlic post for more intel.
- After the garlic has cooled, squeeze out the cloves into a bowl and mash into the softened butter with a fork.
- Mash in parmesan, oregano and salt and pepper until completely incorporated.
Assemble and grill the sandwiches
- Open the ciabatta rolls carefully or slice with a serrated knife. Spread half of the roasted garlic spread on the crumb side of each half of a ciabatta roll all over including the edges. Repeat with the other roll.
- Flip the buttered sides down on to a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle the grated cheeses on what is essentially the tops of the rolls. Push down lightly to compress the cheese a bit. Top with the other side (inside out).
Pro tip
A few twists of the pepper grinder over the cheeses before grilling the sandwich adds a little warmth and spice.
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Ciabatta Roll Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese
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Ingredients
For garlic bread spread
- olive oil, drizzled
- 1 head garlic , roasted, per roasted garlic recipe
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, softened
- ½ cup parmesan cheese , freshly grated; plus a little extra!
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper , or a pinch; optional
- fresh parsley , optional garnish
For grilled cheese
- 1-2 slices fresh mozzarella
- ½ cup grated Gouda cheese
- ½ cup grated Jarlsberg or Fontina cheese
- 2 ciabatta rolls
Instructions
- Trim the top of a head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and wrap in foil. Place in a small baking dish and roast for 30 minutes at 400˚.1 head garlic, olive oil
- After the garlic has cooled, squeeze out the cloves into a bowl and mash into the softened butter with a fork.½ cup unsalted butter
- Mash in parmesan, oregano salt and pepper until completely incorporated.½ cup parmesan cheese, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, fresh parsley
- Open the ciabatta rolls carefully or slice with a serrated knife. Remove any extra fluffy bread inside.Spread half of the roasted garlic spread on the inside of each half of one ciabatta roll. Repeat with the other.2 ciabatta rolls
- Flip the buttered sides down on to a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle the grated cheeses on what is essentially the tops of the rolls. Push down lightly to compress the cheese a bit. Grind some black pepper over top and top with the other side (inside out).1-2 slices fresh mozzarella, ½ cup grated Gouda cheese, ½ cup grated Jarlsberg or Fontina cheese
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Place the sandwiches on the skillet side by side leaving room between. Set a timer for 2 minutes and flip once golden brown.
- Cover the pan with a lid and lower the heat to medium low. After 2 more minutes or so, check and see if the inside of the sandwich is melted. If not, flip again and repeat.
- Press down the sandwiches with a flat spatula to help achieve a crispy exterior and for the inside to melt evenly.
