Double Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Recipe

Ingredients:

For the tomato sauce:

• 3-4 ripe, medium-size tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup Duplin Burgundy wine
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the sandwich:

• 2 slices of Italian bread, each 2 inches thick
• 1 ripe, medium tomato, cut into 6 slices
• 6 slices fresh mozzarella cheese, each slice about 1/3-inch thick
• Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. Make the tomato sauce: Core and cut each of the 3 or 4 tomatoes into 6 wedges. Place the tomatoes in a glass bowl. Add olive oil to the tomatoes. Add Duplin Burgundy wine to the tomatoes. Gently toss the tomatoes to coat with olive oil and wine. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
2. Combine chopped basil, minced garlic, salt, freshly cracked pepper and 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a 1-pint Mason jar. Stir ingredients together in the jar. Replace lid and leave jar at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
3. Remove tomato wedges from the refrigerator. Line an air fryer pan or a sheet pan with foil. Line up tomatoes in a single layer on the on foil-lined pan. Place in air fryer oven and cook at 300 degrees for 5-10 minutes until tomatoes have softened and browned slightly. Alternately, cook tomatoes on a foil-lined sheet pan in a 400-degree conventional oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove tomatoes from oven. While they are still warm, carefully place them and a little of their juices inside the Mason jar with the basil. The jar may be quite full. Gently crush and stir the tomatoes with a fork as you are loading them into the jar. Screw the lid on the jar and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Set jar aside.
5. Make the sandwich: Toast the Italian bread slices. Lay the toasted slices side by side on an air fryer pan or a baking sheet. Lay 3 tomato slices on each piece of bread. Lay 3 fresh mozzarella slices over the tomato slices. Cook in air fryer or under a conventional over broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly, with a couple browned edges. Remove pan from the oven.
6. Place open-face grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches on a plate. Spoon about ¼ cup of the tomato sauce over each sandwich. Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve with a glass of Duplin Burgundy wine.
7. Makes 1 serving.