Caprese Salad or sandwich usually consists of fresh tomatoes, fresh made mozzarella, fresh basil and really good olive oil.
Prep Time: 15min.
Cook Time: 15 min.
Ingredients:
1 ball of fresh Mozzarella
rustic bread
2 fresh large tomatoes
basil pesto
1c. arugula
Good Olive oil for brushing/drizzling
Large red or yellow pepper
1/2 sliced red onion
Panini press
Salt & pepper
Directions:
Start with heating up your press on med-hi heat so it’s nice and hot & ready for your sandwich.
Cut and clean the peppers into large pieces, and slice half a red onion.
Drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste.
Pop onto a hot grill/frypan until they are wilted and soft with a little char on them. (10 min). You still want them with a little texture.
Then set them aside in a bowl when they are finished.
Slice the fresh tomatoes 1/2 in. thick, set aside.
Note: You can use beefsteak or heirlooms, they are both a juicy meaty tomato
I used my own homemade pesto, which I will add the recipe below.
I used some leftover Tuscan bread that I had, you can use a baguette or whichever you choose.
I started by slicing the bread in half.
cutting enough to serve 1 -2 people
Brushing a little olive oil on the crust part of the bread(both pieces, (that's for grilling)
Let's start building that sandwich!
Spread a really good slathering of pesto onto the bottom piece,
Add a handful of arugula
Slices of fresh tomato
Sliced mozzarella (when I say fresh mozzarella, I mean the nice round mozzarella). you can also use the mini bucatinis.
Add your grilled peppers and onions (as many as you want to serve)
Pop onto your hot panini press and carefully press down so you have the grill marks on the bread. I say carefully, so you don’t lose the best part of the sandwich on the grill.
It should only take a few minutes to do that until the bread is toasted with nice grill marks from the panini and melty cheese. This is my perfect Grilled Caprese Sandwich.
It’s really good if you have some balsamic vinegar glaze to drizzle over top. But that’s up to you on how you like your sandwich.
For those days you don’t feel like eating meat and you want a simple lunch or supper this is a great sandwich served with a light salad.
My Pesto
Prep Time 10 min.
1c. fresh basil leaves
1/2c.arugula
1 large garlic clove
1/3c. toasted walnuts or pine nuts
Olive oil
1/4tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked pepper
1/4c.grated parmesan
1 pinch of dried chili peppers
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Directions:
In a blender or small food processor add the basil leaves, arugula, garlic clove(peeled) nuts, chili peppers, a 1/4tsp. salt and some cracked pepper lemon juice and parmesan cheese.
blend the ingredients together, when everything starts to break down.
start out with about 1/4c. of olive oil (I usually eyeball it).
You are looking for a nice spreadable consistency. You may need to drizzle a little more in to get the right texture.
Just remember to taste for any extra seasoning you may need, before you serve.
You can serve this on a sandwich or with pasta for sure! It's also great with a beautiful Grilled porkchop, chicken or fish.
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