Grilled Cheese Pizza & a Simple Salad

About two weeks ago, during the holidays, my mum gave me a blank cheque to buy as many ingredients as I wanted at a speciality store half an hour or so from where I live. I stepped off the train a station or two before my usual stop, walked for about ten minutes, and found myself gazing at the black and yellow store sign I had heard so much about. This was my kind of store. I mean, they sold exotic meats like crocodile, kangaroo, ostrich and antelope there, as well as more regular meats like elk and hare. They sold all kind of oils, flours, crisps and seafood, but more importantly, they sold French/Swiss/Italian/Spanish cheeses. I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was dangerous territory.

I ran all over the store looking for the cheese department, and nearly had a heart attack when I spotted it. The people around me must have thought I was mad! My arms were quickly filled to the brink with Comté, Gruyère, Manchego, Appenzeller and French fromage de chèvre (goat cheese). When the cheeses and I finally made it to the counter, along with a few bottles of nut oils and a package of buckwheat flour, the salesman (his name was Ahmed, I think) just stared at the groceries. Hardcore. Poor fellow.

A few days later, I used large chunks of each cheese to make this cheese pizza. It was outrageously good. A warm, tasty, cheesy, herb-filled, paprika-kissed, grilled goodness. I'll let you in on a little secret; what gives the pizza its special je-ne-sais-quoi, the magic touch, as it were, is this: Spanish smoked paprika powder. Sprinkle generously over the pizza before you chuck it in the oven – the flavour will meld together with the cheeses into deliciousness. This is a once-in-a-while kind of food, but if you really want to take a stroll down the cheese + starch pavement, look no further.

Serve alongside this simple salad to complete the meal :)

PS: I'll be submitting this recipe to Yeastspotting. 

PS PS: I just launched a Norwegian version of Ferdakost (http://www.ferdakost-no.com). I'm moving abroad in August and wanted to maintain my Norwegian. I just thought I'd let you know. / Eg vart nettopp ferdig med ein norsk versjon av Ferdakost (http://www.ferdakost-no.com), og overset ikkje oppskrifter til norsk her på denne sida frå no av. Eg flytter utanlands til hausten og ynskje difor å bevara norsken min.

Grilled Cheese Pizza Original recipe by © Marion Fløysvik This recipes make six, thin pizzas. I usually either halve the recipe, or make enough for two dinners. If you don't have a BBQ grill, you can use the grill in your oven. Will work just as well. And, as always, you can top these pizzas with whatever you like - this is just my personal favourite. But I heartily encourage you to experiment with pizza toppings. It's nearly as fun as eating! *Ingredients* 1 recipe pizza dough, rolled into six disks 1 recipe tomato sauce 250 g. (3 cups) Gruyère cheese, grated 200 g. (2 ½ cups) Comté cheese, grated 200 g. (2 ½ cups) Parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated 250 g. (3 cups) Appenzeller cheese, grated 100 g. (3 oz.) French goat cheese, in slices (optional) 3-4 tbsp. capers  150 g. (6.1 oz.) green olives,pitted and sliced in two 4 tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped 4 tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped  2 tbsp. fresh tarragon, finely chopped Smoked paprika powder Olive oil 1.Place one or two pizza disks (depending on size of your grill) on a warm grill. Brush with olive oil on one side, and flip the dough around. Brush olive oil on the second side. Check the pizza bottom often - when it is golden, you can flip the pizza around again. 2.Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on each pizza, and get the toppings on quickly. When the bottom of the pizza is golden again, remove the pizza from the grill, let cool slightly, and serve warm. Repeat with remaining pizzas. Simple Salad *Ingredients* Two handfuls grand rapids salad, cleansed and roughly chopped 1 handul rucola salad, cleansed  1 tomato, chopped 2 tsp. capers 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 130 ml. (½ cup + 1 tbsp.) olive oil Parmigiano reggiano, finely grated 3 tbsp. lemon juice 1 egg Salt and pepper Croutons (see below) Croutons ½ baguette, cubed 3 tbsp. olive oil 3 tsp. garlic powder Salt and pepper 1.Croutons: Preheat oven to 175°C. Spread the cubed baguette on a baking sheet, coat wth olive oil and flavour with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes. 2.Boil a pot of water over high heat, add the egg and cook for 45 seconds. No more, no less. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix the capers, mustard, lemon juice and egg together in a bowl. Slowly, add the olive oil. If you add it too quickly, the dressing will separate! In a salad bowl, mix the salads, dressing, cheese and croutons together, and serve.