Pimento Cheese...one of my favorite classic southern dishes. Even though my mother grew up in the South, we didn't eat a lot of southern food when I came along (she prefers unsweet tea!). But pimento cheese has been a staple in our home for as long as I can remember. It's a great dish to whip up when you want a light lunch or to make a burger really special.
In recent years, with the rise in popularity of Southern food, pimento cheese has been taken to gourmet standards. One of my favorite re-interpretations is a blue cheese bacon pimento cheese. I know, that's a pretty far jump from the traditional but it goes really well with a burger.
You may be skeptical of pimento cheese and you may have tried others and not liked it but try making it yourself and you may find it's your new favorite. I converted my Southern husband to my pimento cheese!
Here's my favorite way to make pimento cheese:
Mom's Pimento Cheese
1 red pepper
1 8 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise or similar substitution
pinch cayenne pepper
fresh ground black pepper
Roast your red pepper.
I prefer to do mine under the broiler in my oven. My method is to wash and cut out the stem and seeds of the pepper (while keeping the rest of it un-cut). Then put the pepper under the broiler on top of some aluminum foil. Keep checking the pepper and rotating it until the outside is good and black. You want as much of it to be blackened as possible. Then put the pepper into either a paper bag or a container that you can seal up. Let it sit and cool. Once it's cool enough to handle, peel away the blackened outer skin and you should be left with a great roasted red pepper.
Another method is to hold the pepper over an open flame, if you have a gas stove.
While the pepper is cooking, shred your cheese. I prefer to use a medium shred on my grater.
You may not want to shred all of the cheese to start with. It depends on how big your pepper is and what kind of pepper to cheese ratio you like. But I think a 2/3 cheese, 1/3 pimento/pepper ratio is best.
Once peeled, dice the pepper up into small pieces, as small as you can get.
Combine the diced pepper and cheese. Add in the mayo a couple spoonfuls at a time until you get it to your preferred consistency.
I like to keep the mayo on the low side. Just enough to bring everything together but not drown everything.
Then add some fresh ground black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
You can play with this recipe trying different cheeses, different mayonnaise/salad dressings and different spices.
Here's a link if you want to try making your own mayonnaise. I've had good success with this recipe.
http://www.beantownbaker.com/2011/08/homemade-mayo.html
Other uses for pimento cheese:
Also, I found this interesting article on pimento cheese burgers - they seem to have originated in Columbia, South Carolina! I do know that we have a lot of good ones around here.
http://gardenandgun.com/blog/proper-pimento-burger
Hope you enjoy!
In recent years, with the rise in popularity of Southern food, pimento cheese has been taken to gourmet standards. One of my favorite re-interpretations is a blue cheese bacon pimento cheese. I know, that's a pretty far jump from the traditional but it goes really well with a burger.
You may be skeptical of pimento cheese and you may have tried others and not liked it but try making it yourself and you may find it's your new favorite. I converted my Southern husband to my pimento cheese!
Here's my favorite way to make pimento cheese:
Mom's Pimento Cheese
1 red pepper
1 8 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise or similar substitution
pinch cayenne pepper
fresh ground black pepper
Roast your red pepper.
I prefer to do mine under the broiler in my oven. My method is to wash and cut out the stem and seeds of the pepper (while keeping the rest of it un-cut). Then put the pepper under the broiler on top of some aluminum foil. Keep checking the pepper and rotating it until the outside is good and black. You want as much of it to be blackened as possible. Then put the pepper into either a paper bag or a container that you can seal up. Let it sit and cool. Once it's cool enough to handle, peel away the blackened outer skin and you should be left with a great roasted red pepper.
Another method is to hold the pepper over an open flame, if you have a gas stove.
While the pepper is cooking, shred your cheese. I prefer to use a medium shred on my grater.
You may not want to shred all of the cheese to start with. It depends on how big your pepper is and what kind of pepper to cheese ratio you like. But I think a 2/3 cheese, 1/3 pimento/pepper ratio is best.
Once peeled, dice the pepper up into small pieces, as small as you can get.
Combine the diced pepper and cheese. Add in the mayo a couple spoonfuls at a time until you get it to your preferred consistency.
I like to keep the mayo on the low side. Just enough to bring everything together but not drown everything.
Then add some fresh ground black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
You can play with this recipe trying different cheeses, different mayonnaise/salad dressings and different spices.
Here's a link if you want to try making your own mayonnaise. I've had good success with this recipe.
http://www.beantownbaker.com/2011/08/homemade-mayo.html
Other uses for pimento cheese:
- is to melt it and use it as a dip for chips. It goes well with tortilla chips. Just throw it in the microwave for a few seconds and stir it to get all the cheese melted. It's a favorite at parties.
- spread it on bread and make grilled cheese (with tomato soup!)
- have with fried green tomatoes
- add it to your BLT
Also, I found this interesting article on pimento cheese burgers - they seem to have originated in Columbia, South Carolina! I do know that we have a lot of good ones around here.
http://gardenandgun.com/blog/proper-pimento-burger
Hope you enjoy!
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