Soppresata Tomato Panino
Posted on | March 30, 2009 | 1 Comment
We’ve had a couple of warm days here in Texas and the lettuce crop is beginning to suffer a bit. Having said that, it’s 60 degrees today and perfect weather for my heirloom varieties so I’m at the mercy of Mother Nature. I decided to use some of the beautiful, organic leaves from my garden and make a panini. A panini, not to be confused with Paganini the violinist, is a pressed sandwich. Panini is actually the plural of these tiny sandwiches translated as “small bread rolls” or the singular, panino. Mario Batali would get Iron Chef design points by calling them a panino imbottito or a stuffed little bread roll. Panino imbottito sounds like it would be worth at least a couple more points.
If you don’t have a panini press don’t fret. Sandwich pressing can be accomplished in several ways. A panini press is a single use piece of equipment and I’m not sure why I actually own one. I make about four panini’s a year; maybe. The next option is a grill pan. Grill pans have grill ridges molded into the pan to simulate grill marks and yields perfectly acceptable results. The next option is to put a heavy pan on top of the sandwich while it is cooking. This acts as a weight to press the sandwich. A squished sandwich is the real desired result here. Finally, a la Alton Brown, wrap a brick in aluminum foil and place said brick atop the sandwich to be pressed. The weight of the brick presses the sandwich and it can then be used to make a nice edging in your garden. The brick, that is, hopefully no the panini. My panino uses soppresata, an Italian salami, fresh tomatoes, organic garden lettuce although my spring spinach would have done nicely, and a bit of grated natural mozzarella cheese. For effect, I also buttered the pieces of artisanal bread and pressed fresh parsley and oregano into the butter. This makes a beautiful herb pattern when pressing the bread. If you don’t have soppresata then prosciutto, salami, or even chicken are fine substitutes.
A good home grown lettuce from the garden is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Potassium and Manganese. Don’t expect nearly the same from the grocery store stuff. Tomatoes are low in Sodium, and very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. They are also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese. Soppresata is a good source of Protein, Thiamin and Vitamin B12. It is also high in saturated fat. Use sparingly and for taste. Five thin slices for a panino is plenty.
Soppresata Tomato Panino
A mixture of butter and extra virgin olive oil on the bread will yield a nice texture and flavor.
4 slices Artisanal bread
2 tablespoons unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 springs fresh flat leaf Italian Parsley
2 springs fresh Oregano
10 slices thin cut Soppresata
10 Lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry
2 medium red ripe Tomatoes, sliced thin
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Fresh ground Black Pepper to tasteHeat panini press or heat pan on stove top to medium heat. Butter one side of bread slices and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Remove stems from herbs and press leaves into buttered bread. Place bread, butter and oiled side down on baking sheet. Layer Soppresata, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese into two pieces of bread. Take remaining to pieces and place butter side up on dressed panini. Cook panini for 4 minutes per side applying weight during each side of the cooking process. Remove from heat, slice, and enjoy.
Makes 2 panini’s
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November 7th, 2009 @ 3:46 PM
[...] recipe that can be found on the Kretschmar Deli site. It is an adaptation of my Soppresata Tomato Panino I made a while back with some twists on Kretschmar’s products. First prize was $250 along [...]