This buttery, toasty, crunchy, melty grilled cheese sandwich (it might just be the best grilled cheese sandwich you've ever made) features layers of nutty Gruyère cheese, caramelized onions, thinly sliced cured ham, and creamy Mornay sauce (a cheesy béchamel sauce).
Onions caramelize slowly — very slowly — and it can take several hours, stirring every 15 minutes, to reach their most intense flavor. At his restaurant Pasjoli, chef Dave Beran says the pot of onions gets going in the morning and anyone who walks by during the day stirs it in. You probably don’t have a team of chefs in your kitchen, but the good news is that you can get a lot of flavor in a couple of hours. The key is to not let them cook too quickly so the onions can fully develop their own flavor and color over time. Plus, you’ll have plenty left over to use in just about anything — soups, stews, with roasts, or more sandwiches.
Named after former Pasjoli chef de cuisine Matthew Kim, Dave Beran melts Gruyère in a pan to create a crust on the surface of the bread that serves as a crispy, cheesy layer.
The Mornay sauce recipe also makes more than what is needed for the sandwiches. Both the caramelized onions and the Mornay sauce freeze well.
