Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or a sandwich by its fillings.
This recipe wasn’t planned.
Far from it, as I really needed to spend my last couple of hours studying cramming for my finance test. Why it had to be at night, I have no idea (fine, to be honest, I’m sure there’s a good reason. It’s just not one that I appreciate), but it meant that dinner would be early and I had to think of something quick to make and eat.
Sunday flew by, and before I knew it it was already 10 PM and I hadn’t done any meal prep for the week, leaving me with an assortment of ingredients but nothing that looked like it would fit my current time constraints.
Which left me and my stomach anticipating… a sandwich.
Certainly that would be simple, all you have to do is slap on some peanut butter and jelly, or make an egg and add some cheese. Last week I made a similar sandwich that had been really tasty, and it wouldn’t be hard to recreate that.
But then my eyes happened to spot a sweet potato hanging out on its shelf, and the kale that I got in Hungry Harvest this week, and BAM. This sandwich just reached a whole new level. (As has my studying, which has dropped down to almost nonexistent- don’t worry, Mom, I’ll still do pass- while I salivate over this beauty for a bit.)
When I was a kid, grilled cheese wasn’t really my thing. I actually hated cheese on anything other than pasta and pizza, and the sandwiches given out as school lunch weren’t making the idea of grilled cheese any more appetizing.
Lately I’ve actually been having minimal dairy, since I prefer the taste of almond milk, and found that heavy dairy just left me feeling a little sick. The only cheese I reintroduced to my diet so far is feta (not counting the beer cheese we tried in Spain), and luckily I still had some left.
The great thing about this combo is that it doesn’t take much active preparation. Throw the sweet potato in the oven to bake while you leave and do your thing, or make it in advance and just grab it from the fridge when your stomach rumbles. Everything else comes together in about 10 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your toast.
As you can tell, I like mine crisped to the max. I’ll have a well-done cut of toast, please.
The combination seems weird, but believe you me, you’ll be shocked you never thought of it before. Presenting the not-so-average-grilled-cheese that gives you salty and sweet sandwiched between 2 pieces of bread. Have it for dinner. Lunch. Breakfast. Whatever you do, JUST HAVE IT.
Your turn: What’s your favorite sandwich? How about the weirdest one you’ve ever had?
If you make these, let me know what you think! Save it on Pinterest, tag #lensesandlentils on Instagram, leave a comment below. I want to hear from you!
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 leaf kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 slices whole wheat bread*
- 1 tbsp natural peanut butter**
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Pierce sweet potato and bake for 40 minutes, or until soft. Peel off the skin and mash. (You'll only need ⅓ cup of this. Save the rest for another recipe, or a second sandwich!)
- Melt coconut oil in large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, sauté the kale for 30-60 seconds, until dark green and wilted. Remove from pan.
- Add the bread and allow to toast until done to desired burntness. Flip the bread over.
- Spread peanut butter on one slice. Top with kale. On the other, spread the mashed sweet potato, and top with feta cheese. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Close the sandwich and keep on skillet, pressing down gently, until reached desired burntness. Flip and repeat on other side.
**My choice for this sandwich was crunchy salted peanut butter from Trader Joe's.
This is so freaking beautiful. If only my body could tolerate cheese. Love the idea of adding sweet potato into your sandwiches, yum!
Ah, that’s the worst. The few months that I was cheese-free were rough. Have you ever tried vegan cheeses? I never have, but people seem to love cashew based cheeses. Even if not, the sweet potato is SUCH a move!
I already told you this, but i had to reiterate: this sounds delicious and decadent. I want my hands on a sandwich just like this ASAP.
Aw, thank you so much (again)! Highly recommend making one asap. Can’t deny those cravings 🙂
The combination of feta and sweet potato is making my mouth water! These sound so good!
Phew, so glad you think it sounds good. My family/friends have been giving me the weirdest looks for this combo!
Oh my goodness this is so creative! I’m obsessed.
Same! I’ve really never been much into sandwiches, but now I want one all. The. Time.
Oh my gosh, this looks delicious! We’re huge grilled cheese fans in our house and have tried loads of combos, but this one is new even to us. We’ll have to give it a try. And hope the finance test went well! 🙂
Phew, I can’t wait for you to add it to the rotation! Let me know what everyone thinks. And thank you so much! Thankfully I did, indeed, pass 🙂