Fresh mozzarella, Basil, Vine ripened Tomatoes & Salami with A Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette On Ciabatta Bread
Chances are we've all been in the same boat this week and the name of that boat is Gluttony!
I must have taken a few extra rounds in this boat than most of you because you can literally stick a fork in me and roast me on a spit! Hence this week I'm all about the lighter fare - fresh flavors that are big on taste and light on my best friends - buttah, dear-buttah & more-buttah. I am sure you've met them all but this week and for this week only, they've all been packed off on a little cruise.
Which brings me back to this delightful meal. Insalata Caprese is a wonderfully simple salad from the Italian region of Campania. It is a quintessential summer salad (but we're just going to ignore that one and let our Aussie friends have a little fun) using the best of Nature's bounty - vine ripened tomatoes, fresh aromatic basil leaves, fresh buffalo mozzarella, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Such a description is all I need to gobble up a plate. However, my boys tend to view this salad as an invitation to play with their food - one announcing that he doesn't like fresh tomatoes, the other eating only the tomatoes and nibbling on the rest, leaving behind a plate full of half eaten bits, unfit for further consumption.
Mr. Hubby looking forlorn at the sight of a plate with only tomato, cheese and herbs goes What! no meat?
And it is so that I learned that the Panini Grill is a girl's best friend. Pull that sucker out from the cabinet and whatever I put on it, as long as it's between 2 layers of artisan bread, gets eaten up with never a peep!
In this case, I've taken all the ingredients of Insalata Caprese, added some thinly sliced hard salami, nestled it in a balsamic vinaigrette with garlic cloves and what you end up with is a plateful of Ooohh......
The main ingredients are -
Ciabatta rolls, vine ripened tomatoes, thinly sliced hard salami, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, garlic cloves, balsamic vinegar & good quality olive oil.
Now, I encourage you to buy ciabatta rolls for this panini.
You will also need a panini grill or use a non stick flat bottomed pan with a hand held panini press.
Prepare the ingredients -
Tomatoes - Wash & slice the tomatoes, into 1/8" thick slices. Place in a flat bowl and set aside.
Vinaigrette-
In a bowl add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped garlic. Use a whisk to blend the dressing.
Pour half the dressing over the tomatoes and set aside.
Fresh Mozzarella - Slice into 1/8" slices. Set aside.
Garlic cloves - Peel and finely chop. Set aside.
Basil - Separate the leaves from the tough stalks. Set aside.
Preheat the panini grill. Once all the other ingredients are prepared, begin assembling the panini's.
Ciabatta bread -
Slice the bread through to make two halves.
Cook's Note - I ended up using 2 ciabatta's per sandwich only because the ones I picked up from my local bakery were unlike any ciabatta rolls I had ever come across. They weren't large and poofy but rather thin and impossible to slice through in my estimation.
So, I just used two - simple fix. However, if you buy regular ciabatta rolls, you'll only need one per panini, sliced through of course.
With a pastry brush, liberally apply the Vinaigrette over the bread halves taking care to get chopped garlic on the bread as well.
Divide all the sandwich filling ingredients into 4 parts -
Place the salami over the bottom half of the bread.
Layer tomatoes in a single layer.
Layer the fresh sliced mozzarella over the tomatoes.
Layer the fresh basil leaves over the cheese.
Cook's Note - If You plan to double the quantity of filling ingredients and repeating another layer of filling ingredients to get a thicker & more filling panini then continue the layering.
Once filling ingredients are layered, place the ciabatta bread over the panini.
Using a pastry brush, brush some olive oil over the panini bread on both side. You'll need to carefully flip the sandwich over to get the other side.
Grill in a preheated panini grill for 4-5 minutes, until the bread is a beautiful golden brown and the cheese has melted..
If using a non stick flat bottomed pan with a hand held panini press, heat the pan on medium heat, place the panini and press down with the hand held panini press.
Grill on both sides for a total 4-5 minutes. The bread should be a beautiful golden brown and the cheese should have melted.
Use a serrated bread knife, slice in half and serve immediately.
So delightful are the flavors in this panini that it is hard to believe that just a handful of flavors have created something so delicious.
Nestled between the beautiful golden bread is the freshness of the tomatoes, the melted fresh mozzarella and the fragrance of grilled basil leaves against the salty taste of the salami.
The balsamic Balsamic Vinaigrette envelops all the ingredients with a tangy flavor and the garlic punctuates a bite ever so often.
The only down side of this panini is it leaves one with a sense that perhaps one was not enough..sigh...
Recipe for
Grilled Caprese & Salami Panini
Preparation time - 15 minutes
Cooking Time - 15 minutes
Serves 4
Shopping list
4 regular ciabatta rolls
2 vine ripened tomatoes
8 oz thinly sliced hard salami
8 oz fresh mozzarella
1 cup fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
3 tbs good quality olive oil
Preparation -
Prepare the ingredients -
Tomatoes - Wash & slice the tomatoes, into 1/8" thick slices. Place in a flat bowl and set aside.
Vinaigrette- In a bowl add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped garlic. Use a whisk to blend the dressing.
Pour half the dressing over the tomatoes and set aside.
Fresh Mozzarella - Slice into 1/8" slices. Set aside.
Garlic cloves - Peel and finely chop. Set aside.
Basil - Separate the leaves from the tough stalks. Set aside.
Preheat the panini grill. Once all the other ingredients are prepared, begin assembling the panini's.
Ciabatta bread - Slice the bread through to make two halves.
Assembly -
With a pastry brush, liberally apply the Vinaigrette over the bread halves taking care to get chopped garlic on the bread as well.
Divide all the sandwich filling ingredients into 4 parts -
Place the salami over the bottom half of the bread.
Layer tomatoes in a single layer.
Layer the fresh sliced mozzarella over the tomatoes.
Layer the fresh basil leaves over the cheese.
Cook's Note - If You plan to double the quantity of filling ingredients and repeating another layer of filling ingredients to get a thicker & more filling panini then continue the layering.
Once filling ingredients are layered, place the ciabatta bread over the panini.
Using a pastry brush, brush some olive oil over the panini bread on both side. You'll need to carefully flip the sandwich over to get the other side.
Grilling Method -
Grill in a preheated panini grill for 4-5 minutes, until the bread is a beautiful golden brown and the cheese has melted..
If using a non stick flat bottomed pan with a hand held panini press, heat the pan on medium heat, place the panini and press down with the hand held panini press.
Grill on both sides for a total 4-5 minutes. The bread should be a beautiful golden brown and the cheese should have melted.
Use a serrated bread knife, slice in half and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
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