Gooey Grilled Cheese
![Gooey Grilled Cheese Gooey Grilled Cheese](/sites/default/files/styles/recipe_big/public/recipes/Gooey%20Grilled%20Cheese%20BADMANNERS.COM_.jpg)
Bet y’all didn’t know this culinary classic is actually the result of public schools trying to keep costs low while meeting the min nutritional mandates set by the federal govt after WWII. We explore the origins of this universally loved combo on our Forked Up podcast.
Warm a medium saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Throw in the onion and carrot and saute that shit around till the onion looks translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the potato and stir around for a minute more. Pour in the broth and the Braggs, add the garlic, and then throw on the lid. Let that weird soup simmer until the carrots and potatoes are tender, almost mushy, about 10-15 minutes depending on how big or small your chop was.
When the carrots are soft, add the tahini, nooch, paprika, garlic powder, and lemon juice. Turn off the heat. Now you can either use your stick/ immersion blender and put that motherfucker right in the pot and blend until its a smooth sauce. OOOOOOR you can throw all that shit in a blender. You'll get a creamier cheese using a strong blender but we get not wanting to wash that fucker when you're done. So, your call. When all the veggies are creamy and blended up, add the tapioca starch and blend again so that no lumps remain. Cause that's gross.
Pour this sauce back into the saucepan you were using and crank it up to a medium heat. Using a whisk keep stirring the sauce as it starts to heat up. After about 3 minutes when it gets close to a low simmer you'll start to feel it get thicker. That's the starch doing its thing. Keep stirring and heating until it gets thicker than gravy but not quite like a paste, about 6-8 minutes total. Turn off the heat and use right away or pour it into a greased loaf pan and put it in the fridge until later.
This will keep in the fridge for at least 3 days.
HOW TO SANDWICH: First step to making the best grilled cheese, you gotta butter the bread. These are just facts. The sky is blue. Grass is green. Grilled cheese bread gotta be buttered. Butter both sides of 2 slices bread and stick them in large, hot skillet over a medium heat. Toast one side of the bread slices until they're as golden as you like it. Don't be afraid to use the back of your spatula to smush that shit down to the surface of the pan to get an even toast.
When it's looking good, flip the bread and grab the cheese. If you're using it right after you made it, you should be able to kinda spread and dollop it around to get the coverage you want on one slice of the bread. If you are using it out of the fridge it might be a little firmer but you're gonna need to just cut off pieces and place 'em around the top of one slice of the bread.
Once the cheese is on, add the other slice of bread on top, toasted side down, and press a little. Flip and keep toasting until both sides of the sandwich are golden and crispy, Slice into sticks and start dunking that gooey goodness right into our Roasted Tomato Soup. Wanna mix it up? Try adding fresh basil, caramelized onions, broiled tomato slices, or pesto on top of the cheese before you put that other slice of bread on.
* You can use cornstarch in a pinch but tapioca starch will give you a stretchier cheese with a better pull. Cornstarch will give you a nice thick cheese sauce though so don't sweat it if you don't wanna run to the store. It just won't firm up as much and won't set nearly as solid in the fridge. Still good, just different. If you use cornstarch, the left-over cheese sauce is great for a quick mac and cheese another night.
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