Ham, Tomato, and Cheese Panini

October 13, 2019

If you can make a sandwich…you can make a panini! Take some of your favorite sandwich ingredients and grill it until it’s warm. Panini first showed up in the U.S. in the 1950s, but the Italians had a 4-century head start. The first panini showed up in an Italian cookbook in the 1500s! 

Today we bring together some great specials at Fresh Madison Market, and help you build a ham, tomato, and cheese panini.

For this recipe from Williams-Sonoma, you’ll need:

  • 8 slices sourdough bread or pain au levain, each 1/2 inch thick
  • 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 24 small, thin slices of mild cheddar ($4.99/lb in our deli)8 thin slices ripe tomato on the vine (Only $1.29/lb this week)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 4 to 8 thin slices Kretschmar Honey Ham ($5.99/lb in our deli)

 

To grill the panini, you can use a stovetop panini grill, a heavy sauté pan or a ridged stovetop grill pan over medium heat, or an electric panini grill.

Lightly butter the outside of 4 pairs of bread. For each sandwich, place 1 bread slice, buttered side down, on a work surface and layer with 2 cheese slices, then 2 tomato slices. Season with salt and pepper, then add another 2 cheese slices, 1 or 2 ham slices and then 2 more cheese slices. Top with the remaining bread slice, buttered side up.

Place the sandwiches in the grill and close the top plate, or place in the sauté pan or grill pan and press down firmly with a flat, heavy pot lid. Cook the sandwiches, turning once at the halfway point if using a stovetop pan, until the bread is golden and toasted and the cheese has melted, 10 to 14 minutes total. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve immediately. Serves 4.