The Quick and Easy Green Panini

In the spirit of Food Network celeb, Guy Fieri… “One bite of this sammy and you’ll be takin’ the train to flavor town!”

Okay, if you can make a grilled cheese sandwich, you can make a Panini! And, you don’t need some fancy-pants Panini grill to do it. Although if you have one, they are nice and make those very pretty grill marks on the bread.

Me, I’m cheap, and I’m old school. Though I must admit I have been known to be a sucker for kitchen gadgets, for my Paninis I just use a cast iron griddle (smooth) or grill pan (creates the traditional grill marks) and something heavy to smoosh the sammy (wrap a brick in foil and you’re good to go)! My Lodge griddle came with a “bacon press” so I just use that. The bacon press is just a cast iron plate with a handle.

Thank goodness for food ruts, since that’s how I come up with some of my favorite recipes and this one is no exception. Last week I was in a total lunch rut, and wanted to do something easy but different, so I thought….panini! This is what I came up with and the results were incredible. The flavor in this thing (largely due to the fresh basil leaves) lingers and makes you want to savor the flavor before taking another bite. The biggest bonus…the whole family loved them, in fact, they inhaled them! AND they were full of greens and wonderful healthy veggies. BO-NUS!!!!!!

You’ll notice that I do use a little trans-fat free non-dairy margarine on the outside of the Panini’s to create a more browned and crispy exterior. However, you can just as easily skip this part and not add the extra fat, especially if you are using a non-stick cooking surface.

Like in the hummus quesadillas, the hummus here becomes oozy and may start to drip a little over the sides of your Panini. Be careful not to pile the fillings too high though. Paninis are supposed to be thin, and if you add too much stuff, it will all ooze out onto your pan. So don’t go too crazy, just keep it simple.

Again, this is another recipe that I encourage you to play around with. If you aren’t crazy about basil, try a different fresh herb that you DO like, or add fresh spinach. Make it your own, and make it healthy!

Panini Verde
Makes 4 Paninis

¼ cup water
4-6 oz. sliced mushrooms
½-1 Tablespoon tamari (can use soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids instead)
2-4 cups kale, chopped
Earth Balance, or other trans-fat free, non-dairy margarine
8 slices sprouted grain bread (has nuttier texture and nutritionally superior to whole wheat or white bread)
Hummus (see hummus quesadilla post for homemade, oil-free hummus recipe)
1 medium to large tomato, sliced
2 Tablespoons chives, chopped (try using a clean scissors, instead of a knife)
8 large fresh basil leaves

1. Place ¼ cup water in a medium-sized pan, over medium heat

2. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Stir in tamari. Add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted. Turn off heat and set aside.

3. Heat a large grill pan or griddle over medium heat.

4. Spread a very thin layer of Earth Balance on one side of the bread slices.

5. Flip bread over and spread with a thick layer of hummus.

6. On 4 of the slices, top hummus with the mushroom mixture, tomato slices, chives and basil.

7. Place the remaining halves on top of the mushroom topped ones. The Earth Balance should be on the outside of the sandwiches.

8. Place 2 sandwiches (or however many will fit, without crowding) on the griddle and top with a heavy pan, brick, bacon press, whatever. Once the bottom of the sammy is brown, turn over to brown the other side and press again.

9. Once both sides are browned, remove from the pan, and cook the remaining sandwiches. Once they are done, cut on the diagonal and serve. Yum-a-licious!!!