P. P. (Pesto Panini)

Submitted by Sandi From CA

"This is so easy, but so good. The key is to use a good quality pesto. Oh, and to make it truly outstanding, you have to invite me over. Really. It’s a well-known fact. ;) You can use a grill with a foil-covered brick if you don’t have a press."

 

• Ready In: 6mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 1 panini sandwich

ingredients

• 2 slices French bread
• 1 teaspoon pesto sauce (homemade, preferably!)
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
• 1⁄2 roma tomato, sliced
• 1 slice swiss cheese
• 2 slices ham, Black Forest works well
• olive oil, a thin layer on outside of each bread slice

directions

1. Preheat the panini press.
2. Coat one side of each bread slice with olive oil. This will help prevent the sandwich from sticking to the press/grill.
3. Mix the mayonnaise with the pesto and spread on the other side of each bread slice. (I admit to adding an extra teaspoon of pesto!) On that, layer the remainder in the following order: Swiss, tomato, ham.
4. Close sandwich, making sure the oiled side is facing outward, pop it in the panini press, close, count to 240… or thereabouts… and EAT!

Reviews

[Motivated Mama]

GREAT! I made this for a light dinner for the family tonight. I used a multi-grain artisan bread and jack cheese. It was wonderful. I don't have a panini press so I just threw them in the toaster oven. My somewhat picky husband had seconds so you get five stars from me!! Thanks for posting! :D

 

[PalatablePastime]

Yummy! I had mine on rye. Next time I might add a little more cheese just because I love cheese. I love the crispness my panini maker gave this-wonderful! Thanks for posting.

 

[Witch Doctor]

Like MathMom, I do not have a panini press so I improvised with a George Forman small grill. The way the grill was angled, the sandwich kept sliding apart, so I used my electric grill and used an iron skillet for a press. Worked out great!!! Yummy!! I now make these all the time and share with my boys and sometimes neighbors. Started with the Classic Basil Pesto and now have gone through the entire selection of pestos including the Sun-Dries Tomato Pesto (My favorite). Thanks for posting.

 

[MathMom.calif]

Really yummy and easy sandwiches. I don't have a sandwich press, so I just made them on a flat griddle, which was fine. I pressed them down with the spatula to flatten them. The pesto added a really nice flavor to the cheese/meat/tomato combo. I used Recipe #56458 as a jumping off point for homemade pesto. I also made these on homemade bread: Recipe #18200. We made two sandwiches for hubby and myself. One as written with ham and swiss. The other we made with proscuitto and fontina. I liked them both very much and would gladly eat either, but I preferred the prosciutto version to the ham. Just a bit more unusual and interesting to me. Will definitely make these again. Thanks!