Pimento cheese is a divine dish, known in the American South as Carolina caviar, Southern pâté or caviar of the South. There are numerous ways to enjoy it whether it’s right out of the bowl spread on crackers and crunchy vegetables, or melted and drizzled over scrambled eggs or nachos. Pimento cheese makes a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich and I can’t imagine a better spread on a warm, buttery biscuit or over a grilled burger.
Jarred pimentos are mild, sweet and vibrantly red.
Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and pimentos are the three main ingredients. To add a little depth to my pimento cheese, I add a bit of Dijon mustard and Worcestershire, and sometimes a dash of cayenne pepper. Louisiana-style hot sauce is another common addition. Next time I will add some of our homemade pickled jalapeños. Freshly grated cheese is a must for this recipe. Pre-grated cheese has added ingredients to prevent it from clumping and getting moldy. These ingredients greatly affect its melting quality and taste. So get out your grater, it will take just a few minutes if that, to grate a block of cheese.
Melted pimento cheese makes a fabulous sauce for Eggs Benedict. I also like to drizzle it over soft scrambled eggs.
Nachos! I came across the idea to use pimento cheese on nachos from South Carolina’s curiously named “Garden & Gun” web site (named after a 1970s Charleston disco called the Garden & Gun Club). This turned out to be the best cheese sauce for nachos. Once melted, it is easy to drizzle over the corn chips and other toppings.
- ½ cup mayonnaise (not light)
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard, such as Coleman's
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons diced pimentos
- 1½ teaspoons finely chopped parsley
- 8 ounce block of sharp cheddar, finely shredded
- Combine mayonnaise, dry mustard, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, pimentos and parsley in a medium bowl. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese. Refrigerate pimento cheese in an airtight container until ready to use.
- Spread on crackers and vegetables such as cucumbers and bright peppers for a lively and delicious party appetizer. To use over eggs or nachos, heat pimento cheese in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking constantly so that the mixture does not separate.
- Pimento cheese will keep for 5 days or so.