The fabulous, legendary fried provolone and tomato sandwich
Sandwiches
I was not a hugely adventurous eater in my grade school years until my friend Leah came along. Her parents were college professors and were both avid, adventurous cooks. Her dad had a lush garden and grew the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes—the first I had ever seen. I had eaten tomatoes before, but I never really loved them until I tasted these. And I’ll never forget the day he served them up in this sandwich. <br /> <br />We stood in his sun-dappled kitchen, cutting slices from a sturdy Italian loaf and slathering them with mayo as he stood at the stove, frying thick slices of provolone cheese in olive oil. It bubbled and sputtered and got a beautiful golden brown crust, giving off an almost bacon-y aroma. The fried cheese was carefully lifted from the pan, blotted gently on a paper towel, and then placed on the waiting bread slices. We then added slabs of salted tomato, then the top slices of the bread, and sat down at the table to eat. I think my toes curled—I’d never had anything like it. <br /> <br />Thirty-five years later, I still swoon over this sandwich, though I typically only make it once a year—fried cheese is a bit of an indulgence, after all. You really want to wait for great tomatoes, too—the ones at the farmers market in late summer are perfect for it, and if you can pluck a sun-warmed tomato from your garden, even better. <br />
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