Serves 12

Ingredients:

2 two inch thick rounds of provolone
1 T olive oil
1 t dried garlic
1/4 t dried oregano
1/8 t ground black pepper
1 T parsley, chopped
12 basil leaves
2 t garlic, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 loaf baguette, sliced into 1 inch pieces, brushed with garlic and olive oil
Option: sturdy crackers such as Triscuits or sliced ciabatta bread

Spoon Mage™ Notes:

Grilled provolone is a delicious Argentinian treat. Enjoy this recipe at a late summer or early fall get together with a few of your very best friends. Pair with your choice of hearty Italian red wine.

Directions:

Mix the olive oil with dried garlic, oregano, black pepper, and parsley. Rub all over the provolone slices and place them inside a casserole dish. You may need to shave a little off an edge to get the rounds to fit together inside the dish. They will be tasty.

Cover and let the cheese sit on the counter. Or refrigerate, removing from the refrigerator when you light the coals.

Light the grill.

In a small bowl combine the basil, garlic, and tomato, set aside.

Slice and brush the baguette with garlicky oil, place on a baking sheet.

When the coals are very hot, remove the provolone slices from the casserole dish one at a time and sear on each side. This will only take about 1 minute or less per side. The goal is to leave gorgeous grill marks.

If your cheese melts too fast, don’t fuss the marks, they are only for show. It will be delicious without the marks.

Put both slabs of cheese back inside the casserole dish.

Spoon the basil, garlic, and tomato mixture to the side of each piece.

Set the dish on the grates and put the lid on the grill.

Let the cheese cook for about 5 minutes. The casserole dish will blacken quite a bit from the smoke, so use a dish that can be cleaned with an SOS pad.

Meanwhile, toast the baguette in the toaster oven or in the regular oven at 375°F.

It is perfectly fine to serve the cheese very warm and just beginning to melt. Or you can grill it for a couple minutes more to melt the entire thing (no grill marks are necessary with this option).

Serve the hot smoky cheese using a spoon and knife, plating it with slices of hot toasted baguette.

Grilled provolone is particularly good shared with friends, so call some over and have a grill-out tonight!