Okay, maybe just somewhat like they do in Alsace. There isn’t going to be any pork, which the region is known for, saurkraut, which they are also known for but is not welcome in my kitchen, or wine, which I could probably have done with.

What I’ve got here is a grilled twist on Alsatian parsley salad. What is Alsatian parsley salad, Dana?


That’s what I wondered when I heard about it too. It’s not a salad where you use parsley as the green, it’s a cheese salad that is punched up with a vinaigrette and a mound of fresh parsley. Sounds funky, sounds good, I thought.

I couldn’t just let tradition go on it’s merry way, no. This cheese salad, with creamy stringy mozzarella contrasted by herbacious parsley and a vinaigrette, needed a grilled cheese application. The saying doesn’t go: when in Rome kind of do what the Romans do, but these were pretty fantastic sandwiches. Normally such a mellow herb, parsley really gives a strong, clean, green flavor that makes the cheese, in contrast, so much more creamy and luscious.  Melted all together sandwiched between toasty bread brushed with garlic infused olive oil, they were a truly pleasant lunch.

Alsatian Parsley Salad Sandwiches, Grilled

Ingredients

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Cup grated mozzarella cheese (gruyere would be more traditional, but mozz was what I had)

1/2 Cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

6 slices of bread

2 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil

Directions
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar and the Dijon mustard.

  • These tools make chopping large amounts of herbs so much easier.

  • In a second bowl, combine the cheese and the parsley.
  • Toss the salad with the vinaigrette.
  • Divide the salad on three pieces of the bread, topping them with the remaining pieces of bread.
  • Begin a pan heating on the stove over medium high heat.
  • Brush the outsides of the bread with the garlic infused oil.
  • Grill to your taste, some people like toast better than others.
  • Cut on the diagonal and serve.

Because I am not the biggest fan of toast, Mister’s sandwiches stayed in the pan a little while longer than mine. These grilled cheese sandwiches are particularly conducive to the gorgeous formations of cooked crispy cheese that leaks out from the edges of the sandwich during grilling. They’re probably my favorite part of any grilled cheese, and Mister let me have the ones off of his sandwiches too! What a sweetheart!

Mister’s rating: a very fresh, springtime take on grilled cheese sandwiches. The herby taste makes them very light.