Gordon Ramsay Gives Grilled Cheese A Gourmet Touch Using This Basic Vegetable

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has given us some terrible grilled cheese advice in the past (burnt bread and hard cheeses that didn't melt well). But even a legend can have an off day. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, the "Hell's Kitchen" star offered up some grilled cheese redemption with a sammie tip that's great advice: adding caramelized onions that have been deglazed in sherry vinegar. To paraphrase Darth Vader: "The umami is strong with this one."

Caramelized onions, on their own, are great in just about any savory recipe, bringing a depth of flavor that includes sweetness and a hint of nuttiness. The addition of a splash of sherry vinegar takes the taste over the top, enhancing the flavor of the onions and bringing its own flavor complexity with acidity, brightness, and sweetness. Pair these upgraded onions with a great bread — sweet breads might be the perfect thing for this particular sandwich — and a fantastic cheese, and you've got a combo made in sandwich heaven.

To turn your heavenly grilled cheese into a true feast, you might consider pairing it with a tomato soup that features Gordon Ramsay's powerful secret for great flavor, which is adding pesto created using sundried tomatoes. This normally simple soup-sandwich combo gets a major gourmet upgrade with these refined touches from a master chef.

There is, of course, more than one way to caramelize an onion, and Gordon Ramsay has multiple approaches. Any one of them would work excellently in a grilled cheese sandwich construction. To a pan of red onions, for instance, he adds a teaspoon of sugar to aid in the caramelization, then deglazes with balsamic vinegar rather than sherry. Similar to the sherry vinegar, balsamic brings acidity to the party, as well as intensifying the caramelization. He also adds Worcestershire sauce to the pan for even more flavor depth, richness, and a slightly sour note.

These onions would pair well with a sweeter cheese, like fontina, a young Gouda, or an aged cheddar. A mature cheddar is what Ramsay would opt for in a grilled cheese sandwich with caramelized onions, per his Tasting Table interview. If you choose shredded cheese, which is easier to fully cover your bread with, make sure it's hand-grated and not pre-shredded if you want a meltier sandwich (anti-caking additives used in bagged shreds inhibit melting).

There's also a cheese trick Gordon Ramsay swears by for burgers, which could be similarly applied to a grilled cheese sandwich. The chef caramelizes his cheese, placing a slice in a hot frying pan along with a sprinkle of salt. After a short amount of time — about 10 seconds or so — the cheese begins to caramelize, and he literally mops it up using a bun (for grilled cheese preparation, you would use a slice of bread), swirling the bread around until all the cheese has adhered to it. Paired with the onions, this method lets you execute a grilled cheese sandwich that has double the caramelization.

Static Media owns and operates Food Republic and Tasting Table.