The Sweet Winter Fruit You Need To Starting Adding To Grilled Cheese

Gooey, stringy cheddar sandwiched between crispy pieces of sourdough is the key to happiness, or at least a full stomach. When paired with a warm bowl of tomato soup, your day is guaranteed to be 10 times better. Grilled cheese is one of the ultimate comfort foods, partly because it's super satisfying, and partly because it's one of the most customizable foods out there. It's kid-friendly, but the options to elevate it are endless. For example, a grilled cheese can feel instantly fancier and more sophisticated with a cheese that's not cheddar. Think brie, goat cheese, or even gorgonzola. On top of a more impressive cheese, fresh fruit always adds both color and contrasting flavor that's sure to impress. In the wintertime, we like adding pomegranate seeds to grilled cheese for a tart, refreshing burst of sweetness.

Pomegranate seeds might not seem like the most convenient fruit to add to grilled cheese. They're not blackberries or apples, which are more compact; instead, they're small and circular, which may seem like a recipe for disaster. Really, though, pomegranate seeds are one of the best additions to elevate your grilled cheese, and they are a great way to use up the antioxidant-packed fruit. If you add them in between the cheese slices before grilling the sandwich, they'll fit right in and are less likely to create a huge mess.

We think pomegranate seeds go best with cheeses like camembert, white cheddar, and halloumi. The fruit's sweetness mingles with the distinct aroma of your desired cheese, creating a one-of-a-kind flavor.

While cheese and pomegranate seeds are a simple but optimal combination, we can certainly recommend a few additional ingredients to make your grilled cheese even more delicious. Avocado is one ingredient that might not seem so intuitive. You may add avocado to a plain, cheddar-based grilled cheese. When mixed with melted cheese, the avocado's butteriness creates a texture that's simply to die for. Perhaps you want to leave the beauty that is the avocado grilled cheese alone, but if you feel at all adventurous, throw some pomegranate seeds into the mix before grilling everything together. They'll break up the texture with their slight crunch, and not to mention, they'll create a lovely green and red Christmas color palette.

For a sweet twist on the comfort food, add some pomegranate seeds to your grilled Nutella sandwich instead of a grilled cheese. If you've never had Brookside's chocolate-covered pomegranates, you're in for a real treat with this flavor combo. When added to Nutella, they'll create the same sweet-and-tart effect. Add some cream cheese to the sandwich as well; you should be adding this ingredient to every Nutella sandwich anyway, but with pomegranate seeds in the mix, you'll be treated to a delightful fruity, tangy, and ultra-sweet combo.