Ham and Robusto Grilled Cheese with Mango Chutney

By my office, there is a restaurant that only sells grilled cheese sandwiches.  I have never been, but I have wanted to go for a few weeks.  

I have been to a restaurant whose sole focus was macaroni and cheese and another who only sold rice pudding.  You have to be pretty confident in your product if you are only going to sell one type of food.

This is my version of a fancy grilled cheese.  I initially had the idea of a grilled cheese sandwich with chutney.  I debated between roast beef and ham, but decided ham would be more appropriate with a sweet spread.  

The Whole Foods cheese man directed me toward the robusto cheese.  A google search shows that robusto is a Gouda style cow cheese from Holland that is aged for nine months.  It's salty and firm.  It has a strong flavor.  One page said it was robust.  

The ingredients for this grilled cheese sandwich are mango chutney, ham, robusto chesse (or gouda), and bread.

I used this delicious olive bread, but any type would work.

I sliced the bread and spread a thin layer of mango chutney on one side of both slices of the bread.  The chutney was sweet like jam, but it was also spicy.  It worked well with the ham.

 

I placed thin slices of the cheese on top of both sides of the bread.

I added thinly sliced ham.  I placed the two slices of bread together to form a sandwich.

I buttered one side of the sandwich.

I placed the buttered side down into a hot skillet.  I buttered the other side of the sandwich.

I let the sandwich cook until the bread was golden brown and the cheese was melted.  I then flipped the sandwich to brown the other side of the bread.

I slathered on the butter, which made the bread crisp and buttery.

The cheese didn't melt as well as I would have liked.  I enjoyed the flavor, but a softer cheese would have melted better.

There are strong flavors in this sandwich.  The chutney and cheese pack a strong punch.  

My favorite part was the chutney and crunchy, buttery bread.  Without the ham, the chutney would have been overwhelming.  The ham mellowed out the sandwich.

 It was a delicious sandwich.  I enjoyed the sweet and savory combination.