Grilled Veggie Panini
Our gas grill gets the most use during the summer months. Grilling vegetables is quick, easy and really brings out the natural flavors of the vegetables. I use grilled vegetables in so many dishes, and I wanted to share one of my panini recipes with you. A panini is an Italian sandwich that is filled with cheese, herbs, veggies, and meats (for you meat eaters), then grilled or cooked between two hot presses. Get creative with your panini and use whatever you have on hand. I don’t think a bad panini exists! This particular panini includes my Olive Tapenade recipe previously featured. Look for more paninis this fall, paired with homemade soups.
Grilled Vegetable Panini
- *1 zucchini
- *1 yellow summer squash
- *1 ichiban eggplant
- *1 tomato, sliced, seeds remove
- 1/2 1lb fresh mozzarella, sliced
- *8 fresh basil leaves
- 2-4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, for grilling & brushing
- olive tapenade (MWV previous recipe)
- salt/pepper
- 4 ciabatta rolls (or any bread you choose)
Directions:
Preheat your outdoor or indoor grill to medium heat.
Slice the zucchini, squash and eggplant into 1/2″ thick rounds. In a bowl, toss the sliced zucchini, squash, and eggplant with enough olive oil to coat. Add a few grinds of salt and pepper, toss again. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook 5-7 minutes on each side (until you have dark grill marks). Remove from the grill, and turn grill off.
Preheat your panini press or grill pan to medium high heat.
Slice the ciabatta rolls in half. Spread the inside of the bread halves with olive tapenade (as much or little as you like). Stack a couple of each grilled vegetable on the bottom piece of the roll, topping them with a slice of tomato, mozzarella and a fresh basil leaf. Place the top roll back on and brush both sides of the sandwich with olive oil. Place the sandwich on the panini grill and close the lid (if you are using a grill pan, use another heavy pan on top to press the sandwich down, turning once). Remove sandwich from the panini grill once the sandwich is hot, cheese is melted, and grill marks are visible (about 6-8 minutes). Enjoy alone or dip in your favorite soup.
Yield: 4 sandwiches
*items from Midwest Vegetarian garden
One Comment
omg. i am so hungry.