Local Hippie Sandwich Turns Devilishly Delicious Thanks to a Fateful Run In With Melted Cheese and Mayo
We’ve taken your favorite hippie sandwich and brought it way over to the dark side by countering all those green veggies with melty cheese, mayo and a garlicky green goddess spread! We love all of the green, vibrant, exciting flavors and textures of those wonderful green goddess sandwiches that every health food store and funky coffee shop seems to sell. You know the kind—loaded with sprouts and avocado and spinach (and not much else). But, they always leave us feeling a little bit...hungry. Grilled cheese sandwiches on the other hand. Well, they definitely never leave us hungry! But sometimes they do leave us with a little, tiny bit of worry that (despite fullness) we didn’t exactly ingest any sort of substantial nutrients. The solution? This green goddess sandwich recipe, which takes the best of both worlds and smashes them all together into one filling, sumptuous, seriously loaded, toasty, melty sandwich.
Tips for Making the Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich
You know we can make a seriously perfect grilled cheese, and all of the same ideas that make that basic version work apply here. Let’s recap! To make a perfectly toasty-on-the-outside yet gooey-on-the-inside grilled cheese sandwich, here’s what you need to do:
Watch your heat. Medium or even medium low heat is your friend when it comes to making grilled cheese. The bread will toast as the cheese melts, but the cheese needs time, whereas the toasting happens pretty fast! So, buy the cheese some time by keeping your heat down. If the bread is toasting too fast, turn that heat down.
Put a lid on it. A lid will also help speed up the melting process, so once you’ve built your sandwich, pop a lid on your pan for a few minutes to help the cheese melt.
Repeat after us: butter AND mayo. Our “secret ingredient” for any grilled cheese sandwich is a combination of butter and mayonnaise spread on the outside of the bread—the side that gets toasted—to make it just so very extra. It gives an exceptional toasty crunch to the bread and (duh) the flavor and richness cannot be beat.
One Magical Recipe: Green Goddess Sauce
Green goddess is a classic, creamy, mayo-based dressing that was created at San Francisco’s Palace Hotel in 1923 to honor George Arliss, a well-known actor who was starring in a play called “The Green Goddess.” Recipes can vary a lot from person to person, but it’s always mayo-based, always green (of course) and always loaded with bright, fresh herbs. We’ve built pasta salads around our love for this springy dressing, and for this recipe, we’ve made a version that’s a bit thicker and more spreadable than a dressing. It includes anchovy, because anchovies rule, but if you’d like to keep this sandwich recipe completely vegetarian, just leave them out. The green goddess sauce will still be super, beautifully flavorful. To make it, just stir together:
Chives
Fresh tarragon
Garlic clove
Anchovy paste
Mayonnaise
Spinach leaves
How to Make a Green Goddess Sandwich (That’s Also a Grilled Cheese)
The list of ingredients might look a little long for a sandwich, but this isn’t just any sandwich and also, we double up on a lot of the ingredients! So it’s not as long as it looks from the get-go. For example, there’s spinach in the sandwich itself and we use it again in the green goddess dressing. Ditto for the mayo! The sprouts are optional but just FYI, someone might revoke your hippie card if you leave them out. Don’t skimp on the cheese and make sure your avocado is good and ripe. Let’s get started!
Make the green goddess spread. No blender needed!
Prep all of your veggies for the sandwich.
Stir together softened butter and mayo.
Put the butter and mayo mixture on one side of the bread, and the green goddess mixture on the other side.
Begin warming a pan over medium or medium-low heat.
The green goddess side is the inside of your sandwich, so build the sandwich from that layer. On top of the green goddess spread, layer mozzarella cheese, avocado, spinach, asparagus, sprouts and a little more mozzarella. Close the sandwich and use a spatula to move it to the pan.
Put a lid on the pan and let the sandwich toast and the cheese melt. Peak every few minutes, and flip the sandwich when the cheese on the bottom side is melted.
Serve! Ideally with a large glass of refreshing Iced Tea on the side.
Two Great Sandwiches in One Fantastic Recipe
Try this over-the-top sandwich recipe, and let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
