Chicken Panini
/When Mike and I traveled to Italy in August 2012, I soon learned that what American's term a "panini" differs from the Italian panini. In the U.S. we use the word "panini" to mean a grilled sandwich (singular), but in Italy panini {derived from the word pane = bread} actually means small breads (plural). Panino is a single small bread roll and is also a generalized term for a sandwich.
In Italy a panino uses a hearty bread like a ciabatta, then is cut horizontally, and filled with deli meats and cheeses. It is not necessarily grilled or pressed, but can be warmed in the oven. When a sandwich is heated in a sandwich press, the Italians call that "toast".
If I was in Italy, I guess I would call today's recipe "chicken toast", but since I'm here in the U.S. I'll stick with what we know as the panini. I used the arisan boule loaf which is a nice rustic crusty bread, but I have also used an onion, herb, and garlic focaccia bread which was a great addition to the sandwich. The layers in this sandwich include some smoked grilled chicken, eggplant-olive tapenade, roasted red pepper, fresh mozzarella cheese, and a few pinches of rosemary. The chicken and red pepper were grilled outside, the sandwich was assembled and then placed in a panini press to melt the cheese and toast the bread. This is a great quick and easy meal when wanting to use up leftover meat, too.
I hope you enjoy your panino (single sandwich) or panini (many sandwiches)! Mangia Bene!
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Ingredients for Chicken Panini
- 1 pound of skinless, boneless chicken, grilled
- 1/2 cup of eggplant olive tapenade
- 1 roasted red pepper
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
- 1 loaf of ciabatta, boule, or focaccia
Directions for Chicken Panini
- Grill chicken, cool, then slice into 1/2 inch strips
- Grill whole red pepper until skin blisters and blackens. Remove skin under running water. Remove stem and seeds, cut into 1/2 inch strips.
- Layer chicken, roasted red pepper, tapenade, cheese and herbs onto bread.
- Lightly coat panini press with non-stick spray. Place sandwich onto press, close lid, grill 1-2 minutes.