Are you a mushroom lover or a mushroom hater? ….If you are a mushroom lover, you are absolutely going to love these sandwiches and if you are a mushroom hater, I am pretty sure these Spicy Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwiches will convert you! Its smokey, spicy, umami and one cheesy goodness!
The inspiration behind these Spicy Smoky Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwiches is my last year’s travel to Hawaii and the incredible mushroom sandwich I had at Chicago O’hare Airport Terminal. I believe it was on Terminal 3. We were flying out to Hawaii on our anniversary trip to Maui. We had a layover at Chicago airport and things seemed to go as planned. We were chilling on the lounge chairs `right near our departure gate. We both were little hungry as it was close to our lunch time so we both decided to grab something off the terminal. A quick stroll and he decided to get himself a slice of pizza and I wanted something vegan which if you know its little hard to find on most airports.
After carefully reading through few menus I came across this Vegetarian Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich at a Mexican place. I immediately ordered it ( sans cheese) but wait time on order was 15-20 minutes.
Now if you know me, I would rather starve myself than compromise on my food. It has to be tasty or decent enough or I am not eating. I would rather satisfy my hunger with a drink or a bar of granola than compromise, now I am not very proud of this habit and this has caused both my parents and now my husband a major dilemma at times because they refuse to see me go hungry. In our last few years’ travels we have learned to google and jot down the restaurants and cafes we want to eat at before our travel would begin. And seriously it has been a game changer both for me and my husband obviously!
Anyways, moving on to our story, So I am waiting in a queue of people for my order to turn up. Meanwhile husband has finished off his meal and came looking for me with a panic on his face, “Our gate has changed!” He said.
Me : “Just few more minutes and my sandwich will be here.”
Him : “We don’t have time, they have started boarding, I just checked on my phone!”
Him : “Leave the sandwich else you are eating your dinner here today!”
Me : “I am starving, I paid some 14 bucks and I am not leaving without my sandwich!” (*insert puppy eyes)
Him : “Okay, 2 mins and then we are leaving!”
A man behind the counter shouted my token number, which I still remember was 23, lol
I grabbed my sandwich and we ran! We literally ran like anything until we reached our gate. ( Don’t remember the gate number because I was too busy baby-ing my sandwich in both hand and dreaming about it!)
When we reached at the gate they were half way through their boarding process. Our zone wasn’t called out yet so I took a seat on a nearby chair and started eating my sandwich. The husband gave me some “you are impossible but I love you” type mad looks…I ignored it with a smile back and took a bite and oh boi!
That mushroom grilled cheese sandwich straight sent me in food coma, well may be I am exaggerating a bit but it was bar far one of the best sandwiches I ever had! It had nice grill marks on top with that golden brown crust. I believe they used some sort of sourdough bread. The filling inside seemed to be just mushrooms and some sweet caramelized onions. I could sniff and taste the hint of smoked paprika along with some other spices. The sauce they served it with was also a game changer. It was quite thin and had smilier flavor profile as the sandwich and had lil resemblance to barbecue sauce.
I kept on saying to him how good is this sandwich and if he wanted to take a bite lol. He refused…I kept on devouring…then the gate called for the final zone to start boarding…I realized we were the last one to board haha!….It was a good day though, in fact it was a good start for our trip, I think stupid travel mishaps create some of the best travel memories.
So here we are folks! I tried to recreate it in my kitchen. Now since I was the only one who had tasted it, it was little difficult for me to judge the trials I made but I feel this version I am posting would come quite close to that! Its not a clone but its a cousin, think it that way! But equally and incredibly delicious and scrumptious…
MUSHROOMS – I would highly recommend using a combination of mushrooms if you could find, at least two different kinds. I typically use Baby Bella, Shiitake ( my absolute favorite), Oyster, Clamshell etc. But if you could not find then just use the baby bella mushrooms, which are often sold as Cremini or Crimini mushrooms as well. White button mushroom once aged are known as baby bella or cremini mushrooms. These mushrooms are dark brown and firmer than the common white button mushroom. Baby bellas are known to have intense flavor compared to white button mushroom. The more mature and larger version is known as Portobello mushrooms. There are dried versions of hard to find mushrooms in most grocery stores or online. You could use them in this recipe by soaking them in hot water for 10-15 minutes and then squeezing out the liquids to use them.
NOTE : Also do not salt in the beginning of the cooking like we do for most of our dishes. Adding salt early in the browning process would make mushrooms to draw out more moisture, make them cook more slowly and give them a less desirable texture. Salt when you have browned the mushrooms along with spices and then add it after you have added the soy sauce, make sure to taste it before you add your salt as often the soy sauce’s saltiness differs from brand to brand.
BREAD – I would recommend using a good Sourdough bread but any other hearty wheat/seedy/whole grain bread also works amazingly for these sandwiches.
SPICES – This recipe calls for cayenne pepper, some crushed red chili flakes as well as some smoked paprika. I do enjoy the heat it creates but it is not extremely hot if you are used to eating mildly spicy food. If you do not enjoy heat then I would suggest avoiding or reducing cayenne and crushed red chili flakes. The smoked paprika really helps with that smokey sweetness in this sandwich, I highly recommend not skipping it. I love using this Oakwood Smoked Paprika from “Frontier co-op”, I love that its oakwood smoked, non-GMO, non-Irradiated and certified Kosher.
CHEESE – Most grilled cheese recipes would suggest grating your own cheese as often pre-shredded cheeses are laden with anti-caking agents and preservatives. Use your favorite melting cheese like Mozzarella along with some Cheddar and Monterey Jack. I often buy shredded versions but make sure to use organic, non-GMO and vegetable enzyme fermented cheeses. ( Did you know many cheeses are not vegetarian friendly as they use animal enzymes called rennet that derived from a baby calf or lamb’s stomach, read more about it here on formaggiokitchen, really well put together article! ) I personally like to use Mexican blend cheese from Organic Valley, or Horizon. I may skip cheese altogether for me to make it vegan or use this excellent vegan mozzarella from Miyoko’s.
I hope you will make these super simple and easy to make mushroom grilled cheese sandwiches …and love it as mush as I do!
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- FOR MUSHROOM FILLING
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- 4½ cups mushrooms, washed, dried, tough stems removed and chopped ( I love using a mix of baby bella, shitake and oyster, or just use baby bella all together)
- 1½ cups yellow or sweet onion, chopped ( 1 medium size )
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced ( about 8-10 big cloves )
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1½ tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper ( optional OR add ½ tsp for less spice, can be substituted with chili powder )
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped ( optional )
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp sea salt or to taste
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- FOR SANDWICH ASSEMBLY
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- 8-10 slices of sourdough bread or any other bread of your choice
- 2-3 tbsp butter or olive oil ( more if needed )
- 1 cup shredded choice of cheese ( I used Mexican blend, see more details in the post )
- FOR THE MUSHROOM FILLING : Add olive oil in a wide skillet/pan over medium heat, I love using cast iron as it distributes heat evenly and browns things really well. Add the chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes, then add the minced garlic and mix well. Cook it until onion is translucent, will take 2-3 minutes approximately, stirring constantly. The onion-garlic mixture should not brown, if it does then the heat is too high!)
- Next, add your chopped mushrooms to the skillet, and stir to combine and then spread out in even layer. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. The mushrooms will release a lot of moisture, make sure to burn most of that moisture, keep stirring. Increase the heat if needed and cook for about 5 minutes or more till the mushrooms appear deeper in color, most of the moisture has evaporated and the mixture seems almost dry.
- Add oregano, chili flakes, cayenne, smoked paprika and freshly ground black pepper. Let the spices mingle with mushrooms and onion, for about 2-3 minutes.
- Next, add the soy sauce and deglaze the pan. Add salt to taste, I add about 1.5 to 2 tsp of salt, make sure to taste the mixture before you add the salt as it would depend on how much salty your soy sauce is! Cook again for 1-2 minutes and do a final taste test, if you need more of any of the seasoning [ see notes ]
- Turn off the heat and add parsley if you want. Set aside.
- FOR SANDWICH ASSEMBLY : ON STOVE TOP - Heat a grill/griddle pan on medium high heat. Meanwhile, butter one side of bread and add cooked mushroom mixture and spread it evenly. Next add desired amount of cheese on top of mushroom mixture and close it with the second slice of bread. Apply butter ( or brush olive oil) on top of the assembled sandwich and put the sandwich butter side down. Cook until bread is slightly golden brown and grill mark appears. Flip side and add butter (or brush olive oil) on the other side and cook till the other side appears golden brown.
- FOR SANDWICH ASSEMBLY : ON ELECTRIC GRILL/PANINI PRESS/SANDWICH MAKER- Heat the panini press/sandwich maker on high heat. Meanwhile, butter one side of bread and add cooked mushroom mixture and spread it evenly. Next add desired amount of cheese on top of the mushroom mixture and close it with the second slice of bread. Apply butter on top of the assembled sandwich and put the butter( or brush olive oil ) side down on the grill. Now apply butter ( or brush olive oil ) on the top of the sandwich and close the panini press/sandwich maker. Cook until the crust appears golden brown and has nice grill marks.
- Remove and slice it in half and serve it immediately with some chipotle mayo and tomato ketchup.
4½ cups of mushroom quantity is after they have been chopped in smaller chunks.
VEGAN OPTION * - Use vegan cheese to make these sandwiches vegan friendly
GLUTEN FREE OPTION * - Use gluten free bread and instead of soy sauce, use Tamari ( a type of Japanese soy sauce) or other gluten free soy sauce.
The leftover mixture tastes great in tacos and quesadillas!
If you do not like spicy food, then omit the cayenne and chili flakes and just add the smoked paprika which has milder smokey-sweet taste. This may alternate the flavors of this sandwich a bit but tastes great nonetheless.
If you do not have grill pan, do not worry. You can make these in any regular pan to achieve the same golden crust and melty cheese, you may have to use a non-stick pan to avoid it from sticking.
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