I love nothing more than a mayo, ham, cheddar, and mustard sandwich, but sometimes you gotta step it up a little. This sandwich still takes practically no time, but you do have to salt the tomatoes and cut the corn off the cob, which takes slightly more effort than simply slapping some deli ham onto a piece of bread.
But it’s so worth it. The sweet pops of corn melt into the creamy goat cheese. The sweet, acidic tomato mingles with the sharp cheddar. Herbaceous basil pulls it all together.
And then, we obviously had to give this sandwich the everything bagel treatment. Mayo gets smeared on the outside of the bread, and grated parmesan and everything bagel seasoning get pressed into it, then toasted until the form a crispy, everything bagel frico crust.
Did I mention that we’re baking these grilled cheese sandwiches instead of cooking them in skillet? Well, we are. This way you can make sandwiches for the entire family, all at the same time, all on one pan. Let’s make this easy on ourselves, people.
Corn, Heirloom Tomato, and Basil Grilled Cheese
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Serrated knife
- Paper towel or clean kitchen towel
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 8 ounce heirloom tomato, thinly sliced into about 4 slices
- Kosher salt
- 4 large slices of sourdough bread, 1/4-inch thick
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
- 1 ear of sweet white corn, kernels removed (about 1/2 cup kernels)
- 4 ounces(1 cup) grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 tbps thinly sliced basil (about 4 leaves)
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise, divided
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp everything bagel seasoning
Substitutions:
- Heirloom tomato—> any tomato that looks good! Not into tomatoes, pat a slice of roasted red pepper (from a jar) dry and use that instead! Chopped artichokes or olives would also be delicious.
- Sourdough bread—> whatever you have, but you might have extra ingredients if you use normal-sized sandwich bread. Sourdough slices are larger.
- Dijon—> you can omit if you’re not into Dijon, but it adds a nice tang.
- Goat Cheese—> boursin cheese, brie cheese, or another soft, melty cheese. You can also just use all cheddar!
- Corn—> you can use frozen, but you need to dethaw it and make sure it’s totally dry before using! Not into corn? First of all, WHAT?! Secondly, use one of the subs for tomatoes instead.
- Cheddar cheese—> provolone, mozzarella, pepperjack, swiss….
- Basil—> cilantro! Mayo—> butter.
- Parmesan cheese—> ok to omit, or you can use pecorino.
- Everything Bagel seasoning—> you can find it at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma…. but if you don’t have any, just omit it and use only the parmesan! Or, omit both and just use the mayo!
Instructions
- Thinly slice the tomato, place the slices on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Set aside to release some moisture.
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lay two slices of sourdough on the baking sheet. Smear 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard and 1 ounce of goat cheese onto each slice of bread. Top the goat cheese with 1/2 cup corn kernels (1/4 cup per slice of bread), pressing the kernels into the goat cheese as much as possible. It’s ok if they start to fall off, just do the best you can to keep ‘em on there!
- Sprinkle a thin layer of cheddar cheese over the corn, then pat the tomato slices all over with a paper towel to release as much liquid as possible, and place them on top of the cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the remainder of the cheddar cheese over top. Place 2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil leaves over the cheese on each sandwich.
- Close sandwiches with remaining 2 slices of bread.
- Are you a visual learner like I am? HERE YA GO:BREADDIJONGOAT CHEESECORNHALF OF THE CHEDDARTOMATO SLICESREMAINDER OF THE CHEDDARBREADBut we’re not finished quite yet. Now we need to make the everything bagel frico crust!
- Smear half of the mayo onto the bread slices that are facing up. Sprinkle with half of the parmesan and half of the everything bagel seasoning.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the top slice of bread is lightly golden.
- Carefully flip the sandwiches over (I use two spatulas!). Repeat the frico process by smearing the bottom slice of bread with mayonnaise and sprinkling with parmesan and everything bagel seasoning.
- Return baking sheet to oven and bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool for several minutes (if you don’t, the cheese will just run everywhere!) before using a serrated knife to slice the sandwiches in half. Enjoy!
- 8 ounce heirloom tomato, thinly sliced into about 4 slices
- Kosher salt
- 4 large slices of sourdough bread, 1/4-inch thick
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
- 1 ear of sweet white corn, kernels removed (about 1/2 cup kernels)
- 4 ounces(1 cup) grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 tbps thinly sliced basil (about 4 leaves)
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise, divided
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp everything bagel seasoning
Substitutions:
- Heirloom tomato—> any tomato that looks good! Not into tomatoes, pat a slice of roasted red pepper (from a jar) dry and use that instead! Chopped artichokes or olives would also be delicious.
- Sourdough bread—> whatever you have, but you might have extra ingredients if you use normal-sized sandwich bread. Sourdough slices are larger.
- Dijon—> you can omit if you’re not into Dijon, but it adds a nice tang.
- Goat Cheese—> boursin cheese, brie cheese, or another soft, melty cheese. You can also just use all cheddar!
- Corn—> you can use frozen, but you need to dethaw it and make sure it’s totally dry before using! Not into corn? First of all, WHAT?! Secondly, use one of the subs for tomatoes instead.
- Cheddar cheese—> provolone, mozzarella, pepperjack, swiss….
- Basil—> cilantro! Mayo—> butter.
- Parmesan cheese—> ok to omit, or you can use pecorino.
- Everything Bagel seasoning—> you can find it at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma…. but if you don’t have any, just omit it and use only the parmesan! Or, omit both and just use the mayo!
Notes
- You don’t have to flip the sandwiches. You could also just bake for 10 minutes total! The top will be way crispier than the bottom, but whatever!