Grilled cheese with dill havarti on rye
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The grilled cheese is a wonderful way to exercise a crucial cooking skill: careful heat management. Your main tools as you balance the melting of the cheese with the browning of the exterior of the bread are: your flame (I set it on medium heat) and a small lid, which presses the sandwich into the pan and helps retain some of the pan’s heat, to melt the cheese a bit quicker. If you want to dive deeper, I recommend you read the Cooking newsletter on heat management!
As I was brainstorming a specific grilled cheese recipe, I tried to open my mind to flavor combinations I don’t usually see in a grilled cheese, drawing inspiration from fancy cheeses I’ve tasted, charcuterie boards and beyond: Alpine cheese with caramelized onion on sourdough (yum); triple crème with nectarine on brioche (yuck); then it hit me — what about a grilled cheese on rye bread? Rye made me think of East Coast delis, which made me think of pickles, which made me think of dill, which brought me to: dill Havarti on rye. As always, I encourage you to use this recipe as a jumping off point for your own ideas and desires. Yet … I do think this is a pretty good recipe, and it would also make an excellent base for a tuna or patty melt. Or a Reuben. Or to dip into a bowl of cold borscht. Or matzo ball soup. OK, I’m done.
This recipe makes a large, comforting sandwich for one, or a great snack for two. I like to eat mine with brown mustard and sliced pickles on the side, both of which help cut through the richness and add exciting bursts of heat and acid.
If you make it or have any questions, let me know what you think in the comments.
Add the butter and olive oil to a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. While the butter is melting, slice your bread (if not already sliced) and grate your cheese.
When the butter is melted and starts to lightly sizzle, gently squish both pieces of bread into the fat so that the bottom is well-coated. Spread cheese in an even layer over one side of the bread, then flip the other piece of bread on top of it to complete the sandwich.
Cook the bottom of the sandwich until golden brown and crispy, perhaps resting a small lid on top to create a slightly steamy environment and to encourage better contact between the bread and the pan, 3 to 5 minutes. Adjust heat as needed, lowering if the bread is cooking much faster than your cheese is melting.
Flip the sandwich and repeat the process until both sides are golden brown and the inside is molten and oozy.
Remove to a cutting board, slice on the diagonal and serve. Split with a loved one, adding shmears of brown mustard and cold slices of pickle to each bite, if desired and to your own taste.
