Smoked Mozzarella and Basil Pesto Grilled Cheese (Vegan) with Spicy Marinara

You can make this smoky mozzarella and basil pesto grilled cheese sandwich and eat it straight away. It will be gooey and flavourful on the inside, crispy and buttery on the outside....but why stop there? You can take it to the next level by dipping it in a super simple spicy marinara. Ugh. It is heaven and I've had this for dinner three nights in a row because I'm obsessed. What else can I say, scroll down for the recipes. Make it, take a delicious bite, (a glass of red wine wouldn't go astray along side) then pat yourself on the back cause you just made an epic sandwich. 

I think the type of bread you use here is VERY important. I randomly tried it with some generic sliced multigrain bread and didn't really enjoy it. A thinly sliced white sourdough is pretty perfect. I find if the bread is too thick the filling doesn't heat through as easily and also it just is a better ratio of bread to filling when the bread is on the thinner side. 

Recipes

Vegan Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups basil  (120 g)
• 6 tbsp toasted walnut pieces
• 6 tbsp olive oil (more as needed)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic

Method:

1.  In a food processor blitz together basil, walnuts, nutritional yeast, & garlic.
   
2.  With motor running drizzle in olive oil. Add more or less oil to adjust consistency. 
3.  Season with salt, pepper & lemon juice. 
   

Smoked Mozzarella 

​Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
  
• 3 tbsp coconut yogurt
  
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  
• 3 tbsp tapioca starch
  
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp white miso paste
• 2 garlic cloves
  
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
  
• 1 cup soy milk
  
• pinch of white pepper & salt ​
  

Method:

1. Blitz together all ingredients in a food processor , adding the soy milk last. (or a blender)
2. Scrape mixture into a non stick pan over medium heat.
3. Using a spatula stir & pushing mixture towards the center of the pan. Do this until it's thickened and cheesy. About 5 minutes. Use right away or cool and store covered in refrigerator. ​

Assemble the Sandwich

1. Spread a good layer of basil pesto on two slices of bread.
2. Add smoked mozzarella to one slice of sourdough or bread of choice in a thick layer. It's a bit difficult to spread but get er done best you can
3. Sprinkle some extra nutritional yeast in there if you want. Some sliced oily black olives tucked inside was epic
4. Then heat a cast iron pan over medium heat and cook each side until golden brown in plenty of vegan butter. If it's browned on both side but the middle isn't hot you can just finish it in the oven for a few minutes.

​

Spicy Marinara

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced (225 g)
• 1/2 tsp chile flakes (this was the perfect heat level for me, I found it spicy & I consider myself to have an average tolerance to heat)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can whole unsalted tomatoes, crushed before adding to the pot, or a can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 or 3 tsp raw sugar
• 1.5 tsp salt (or to taste)​

Method:

• Saute onion in a couple tbsp vegetable oil until softened. Add chile flakes and garlic. Give those a couple minutes giving it a few stirs. (you don't want colour on anything, lower heat if things are browning)
• Add your crushed tomatoes (along with extra splash of water to rinse out the can) salt and raw sugar. 
• Cook this out over medium heat. I don't babysit it at this point. I like to let the flavours merge together and I'll go do another task and come back to give it a stir here and there for a half hour or so. 
• Now using your immersion blender, blitz the mixture until it is as smooth as you can get it. You might have to tilt your pot on it's side (I had to) so that you can actually do this.
• Then I let it cook out and slowly reduce a bit more for 5 or 10 minutes. Cool and reheat or use straight away. 

​

How to use Leftover Pesto & Mozza

Basil Pesto & Smoked Mozza Pizza

I spread some pesto on my par baked pizza crust. Topped with some mushrooms, red onion, black olives and smoked mozzarella then finished cooking on my pizza stone. I like to Eat this with lemony dressed arugula & cherry tomato salad. I also like to garnish my vegan pizza with nutritional yeast and a delicious drizzle of olive oil. I was dipping slices of basil pesto pizza in the marinara sauce. SO GOOD

Basil Pesto Pasta

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  (Saute onion, mushrooms, garlic, olives & smoked tofu in a pan then add almost cooked spaghetti noodles to it along with plenty of basil pesto, cherry tomatoes & a few splashes of reserved pasta water & S + P. Toss everything around as the pesto and tomatoes heat up and the pasta finishes cooking. Folding in fresh arugula at the last moment. Garnish with more nutritional yeast and garlicky lemony breadcrumbs (Thug Kitchen recipe) and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Dig in. Epic.