Sunday, August 7, 2011

CAPRESE PANINI

Filed under Vegetarian
Ingredients
8 slices of foccacia bread or other flatbread, split (or 4 crusty rolls)
2 large tomatoes, sliced
8 slices fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Drizzle bread slices with olive oil.  On four slices, place equal amounts of sliced tomato, sliced mozzarella and basil.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Top with remaining bread slices to form a sandwich.  Grill sandwiches in a panini press (or in between two frying pans) until bread is golden and cheese is melted.

Let's Dish
It's that time of year where my garden is producing an abundance of tomatoes, and this is one of my favorite ways to use them.  This recipe is so versatile--try adding some roasted red peppers, or replacing the fresh basil with some pesto.  I also like to add some chopped garlic.  If you'd like something a little more hearty, throw in some chicken breast.  And you can really use any kind of bread you have available. I love this light, quick summer meal full of fresh ingredients!

Who Dished It Up First
I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this idea, but it's a sandwich I've always made when my garden starts producing an abundance of tomatoes.

Printable recipe


12 comments:

A Rosy Note said...

This looks delicious and it's vegetarian too, which makes me oh so happy :)

Laura said...

Every time I hear caprese I think of that Office episode where some guy sold Michael a caprese salad and told him it was weed. LoL.

This panini looks sooo good. Basil and tomatoes are in abundance right now so this recipe is perfect!

I'm hungry. Do you deliver? ;)

The Atwoods said...

This looks so fresh and yummy!

Velvet said...

Yum! They look delicious and refreshing.

The apple of my eye.

Stylishly Blissfully Ever After with MiMi said...

Delicious!!

Readable Eatables said...

I love Panini's! All of your recipes look so delicious. Thanks for sharing!

Аелис said...

This looks very delicious and easy - wonderfull idea!

cookingmisadventures said...

Our tomatoes are just about to start coming in, so this is a great go-to. Wish I had a panini press, though! Tasty! ~ Courtney

cookingmisadventures said...

Our tomatoes are just about to start coming in, so this is a great go-to. Wish I had a panini press, though! Tasty! ~ Courtney

Mallory said...

This looks delicious! I too have soo many tomatoes from my garden and am always looking for new ways to use them! So thank you!

girlichef said...

You had me at caprese! This looks like my kind of meal :D

Monica H said...

YUM! I had a margherita pizza a couple days ago that was so good I could have eaten the whole thing by myself and this looks equally delicious! So good.