Grilled Pesto, Avocado and Feta Sandwich
Grilled Pesto, Avocado and Feta Sandwich
My husband and I just got back from France and all of my food dreams came true there! The food was out of this world! The quality is unlike any other place that I have visited; everything is very fresh. During our road trip, we had brunch at a small cafe in Lyon and we ordered the most unreal sandwich I have ever had! It was so simple, but the combination of ingredients was so delicious. I instantly wanted to come home and recreate it. FYI: the pictures do not do it justice. You will just have to make it to see what I’m talking about!
Let me say that using really good quality, homemade sourdough bread (or store-bought artisan sourdough bread) is key to this sandwich. We want big, long slices of bread for a big, delicious sandwich. I find homemade/artisan bread gets super crispy when fried too, which is delicious. This sandwich is full of tasty ingredients like basil pesto, creamy avocado and spicy arugula. Doubled up with two types of cheese, it is sure to make your mouth water! Bonus: you only need 10 minutes to make this easy recipe.
The main ingredients include:
Bread - I love to use homemade sourdough bread because it has amazing flavour and texture. Also, that bit of “sourness” adds a desirable element of flavour to the sandwich.
Pesto - Basil pesto is so popular to use in recipes these days and for good reason! It’s one of the ingredients that makes this sandwich so good. You can either buy it at the store or make it yourself at home.
Avocado - You will need one ripe avocado for this recipe. You can mash it with a fork or with a mortar and pestle until it’s nice and creamy like guacamole. Paired with the basil pesto, its a complimentary pair!
Feta - Feta has a unique flavour in that it is quite salty. It works beautifully alongside the more mild mozzarella cheese and helps to enhance the rest of the flavours and ingredients in the sandwich.
Mozzarella - Mozzarella is a great cheese to use for this sandwich because it is relatively mild and melts well. There are a few other bolder flavours in this sandwich and we don’t want to overpower them. A white cheddar would probably work as well as long as it is not old cheddar.
Arugula - Adding some fresh greens to this sandwich gives it a bit of volume and freshness. Arugula has a very mild spice to it which adds a nice element to the sandwich.
Butter - Buttering the bread before frying is mostly for flavour, but it also helps every inch of the bread to get crispy. I usually butter them quite generously and I never regret it!
Olive oil - Adding a little olive oil to the pan will help the bread to get really brown and crispy on the outside. That is what we want for optimal flavour and texture!
Lemon - It’s in your best interest to garnish the sandwich with a squeeze of lemon before serving. This sandwich is made up of flavourful, but more alkaline ingredients, so we really need that bit of acid to balance everything out.
Grilled Pesto, Avocado and Feta Sandwich
Grilled Pesto, Avocado and Feta Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices artisan sourdough bread
- 1/3 cup basil pesto
- 1 avocado
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp crumbled feta
- 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup arugula, lightly packed
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tbsp salted butter, at room temperature
- oil, for frying
- lemon, for garnishing
- *optional* flakey sea salt, for garnishing
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mash the avocado and lemon juice until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste and then set aside.
- On two of the 4 slices of bread, spread the basil pesto on top generously. Spread the mashed avocado on the other two slices of bread.
- On top of the pesto, crumble the feta and layer on the mozzarella cheese. Top with arugula and the slice of bread with the avocado on it.
- Butter both sides of the sandwiches and set aside.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle a little oil in it.
- Once hot, add the sandwiches and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the cheese is melted and bread is golden and crispy.
- Top the sandwiches with flakey sea salt and a squeeze of lemon and enjoy!