White Pizza Grilled Cheese

Did you know April is National Grilled Cheese Month? Neither did I. But we should all be celebrating this delicious, easy-to-make dinner. This particular recipe is a long way away from the old white bread/orange cheese slice combo. And hey, if you come across any other awesome grilled cheese recipes, I'd love to see them! This one mimics a delicious white pizza.
original recipe via kitchentreaty.com

Grocery list items:
ciabatta bread
mozzarella cheese
spinach
ricotta

Let me give you fair warning: This is going to be garlicky! If you have some kind of social function to attend, save this for another night. I swear, I was breathing garlic for the next two days. I personally like it super garlicky, but if you aren't as crazy about it, I guess you could cut down on some of it. But that's what makes it "pizza -y" in my opinion. Side tracking - did you know that in Italy, ricotta is not considered a cheese? That's because it's made from whey, and it has less fat than other cheeses. Anyway, I believe you were looking for a delicious grilled cheese recipe?

White Pizza Grilled Cheese (makes around 6 sandwiches)
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
generous sprinkle fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 head garlic
8 oz mozzarella, sliced
3 cups spinach, chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced (for rubbing on the bread)
2 tbsp butter (for cooking sandwiches)
12 slices ciabatta

Start by mixing together ricotta, olive oil, minced garlic, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Cover, and put in the fridge to let the flavors meld, for an hour or more. Then begin the roasted garlic. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim the top off the head of garlic, and remove any loose paper. Keep the garlic head in one piece, and don't remove all the paper. Rub it generously with olive oil, then wrap it in aluminum foil. Roast in the oven for 30-45 min.
After the garlic is roasted, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool a bit. Then carefully squeeze out the soft cloves (if they are still firm and white, cook it a bit longer) and chop them roughly. Mix the garlic in with the cheese mixture. Rub the outsides of all slices of your bread with garlic, then butter them. On the inside of the bread, spread generous amounts of ricotta mixture.

Place a slice of mozzarella (1 per sandwich) and a handful of spinach, then make your sandwiches. Put the sandwiches in a pan (only 3 fit in mine) and cook until golden brown on the outside, and the cheese is good and melty on the inside. Enjoy!

You know what else is awesome about this sandwich? When some of the spinach fell out, it got super crispy in the pan. Obviously, you can make all kinds of interesting changes to this recipe. Some artichoke hearts or olives would be good in this. Or maybe a Margherita Pizza grilled cheese!

UPDATE:

Here's a variation on this delicious sandwich - 

Swapped out the spinach for some fresh basil and parsley pesto for an extra cheesy, herby kick!