8 Quick Gourmet Panini Recipes

Panini

What is a panini you may ask. Well it is really just a grilled sandwich, but it can become much more if you put some thought into its ingredients. The limits are only the ones which you impose on yourself. Try a goat cheese with sliced fruit panini for a midday snack. There is no end to the possibilities! Now for just for a few basics for making a panini.
Ideally I would suggest that you purchase a panini grill or panini press as it will make your life easier if you plan to make paninis more than just a few times. Frying them on a skillet works but can become a bit messy when trying to flip them over and the cooking time will be a bit longer.

When selecting a panini grill try to find one where you can regulate the heat and the pressure on the sandwich. Also look for one that will allow you to take off the grates so clean up will go smoothly.

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Try to use a bread like ciabatta, a French baguette or thick crusty Italian bread cut down the middle. The idea is to have just enough bread so that your ingredients don't squirt out or that your bread is so thick that you only notice the bread. Then brush on a bit of olive oil on the outside of the bread before you grill it, add your sandwich ingredients and grill away!

Here are a few of our favorite paninis try them if you like or start creating paninis with your own ideas.

Set Your Grill at 375 degrees and just enough pressure to compact the slices of bread. For the following combinations feel free to use any type of bread you like.

1) Roasted Ham, Sonoma Dry Jack Cheese spicy mustard

2) Serrano Ham, Idiazabal cheese, and sun dried tomato pesto

3) Madrange French Ham, organic Morbier cheese, and Dijon mustard

4) Herbed Salami, Ossau Iraty cheese and basil pesto

5) Soppressata, Pecorino Tuscano cheese, and roasted red pepper pesto

6) Finocchiona, Taleggio cheese and cilantro chutney

7) Herbed Salami, Pecorino Tuscano cheese, and sun dried tomato pesto

8) Mozzarella, tomato, avocado, romaine lettuce and roasted red pepper pesto

Brindamour A Wonderful Herb Covered Sheep's Milk Cheese

Brindamour

Brin d'Amour

Brindamour is an herb covered sheep's milk cheese produced on the island of Corsica. It is also known by the name Fleur du Maquis (flower of the maquis) which references the ubiquitous brambly underbrush that covers the island. This cheese is Corsica's most famous cheese and is made entirely by small independent farms and dairies. It is transported in bulk to the major markets on the French mainland for distribution around the world. Brin d'Amour is usually made from unpasteurized sheep's milk but the cheeses you will find in the United States will almost always be the pasteurized version due to its short aging time. These versions are usually called Fleur du Maquis . Both versions are very good so this is not a major issue.

Details: Brindamour is a rindless cheese that is densely covered with dried herbs which impart their flavors to the cheese. It is shaped into round edged squares or round disks that weigh about 1.25 to1.75lbs each. The types of herbs used varies by the producer but they are always locally grown. The most popular herbs being used are rosemary, thyme, and savory, in addition to juniper berries, and coriander seeds. 

Flavor: When Brindamour arrives in the US it is young and has been aged for about two weeks. The inner paste will be pure white, soft and moist but not wet and will have a mild flavor. It can be bought this way, but many cheese sellers let it age for one to two months to develop its true flavor. At one month the interior paste will be bone white and a bit runny and will have taken on a nutty sheepy flavor. If you find Brin d'Amour with faded and dried out herbs it will feel harder because the interior paste has thickened. At this point it will be close to two months old and will have lost most of its moisture. The flavor will have evolved and will now be much stronger but not extremely sheepy and the herb flavor will be more pronounced. This is a great cheese at this stage. 

The entire cheese is edible but the coating of herbs can be tough to chew through so just scrape them off. You may see spots of mold on older versions but they can easily be scraped off. 

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When shopping for Brindamour ask your cheese retailer approximately how old the cheese is so you can get the age that you want. Remember all stages of ripening are wonderful and you may want to try them all to see which ones you prefer. This is a hearty cheese but ask for a sample to see if the age is right for you. Do not be turned off by the faded color of the herbs or specks of mold, as noted above this is a natural process of aging and it will give you an indication as to how old it might be.  NOTE: You may also find another Corsican cheese like Brindamour named Niolo, it is not very common but a few really good gourmet cheese shops may some in stock.

Serve Brindamour at lunchtime as a salad course that contains olives, tomatoes, ripe fresh peppers and savory greens. This is also a great table cheese served with a glass of wine.

Wine Pairing:  Sharp earthy reds from Corsica like Sciacarello and Patrimonio if you can not find them look for similar reds from France and Italy.

Swiss Raclette The Famous Swiss Melting Cheese

The name Raclette traces its name back to the French word racler meaning "to scrape". Swiss Raclette in essence is really a group of similar cheeses that are produced in small towns and dairies. The names of the cheeses reflect the names of these towns and dairies . Raclette cheeses are made from raw unpasteurized cows milk although there are some pasteurized versions available. The milk for Raclette comes from cows that graze on grass and flowers in the high alpine meadows of Switzerland and is considered a mountain style cheese. 

 Details: The production of Raclette is localized and is made using time honored traditions. The fresh curds are gathered and placed into hand carved wooden molds and pressed to expel the excess water and whey. The newly formed cheeses are then soaked in a brine solution and brushed with a yeast solution which helps to form the hard outer rind. They are then placed on wooden benches and left to age for three to six months in local cellars. The aged cheeses do not have any holes and will have a faint yellow inner paste that is semi-firm and an inedible dark beige rind. The wooden molds used to age the cheeses leave impressions of the name of the town or dairy where they were produced on the rind.

Flavor: Raclette has a stronger flavor and is smoother and less hard than Gruyere. The flavor is  nutty and not too salty however longer aged versions are sharper and more pronounced.

When shopping for Raclette look for a dark beige rind that does not look dry and is not cracked or shows signs of reddening or mold. Try to find cheeses from the canton of Valais with the names Bagnes, Conches, Gomser, and Orsieres on the rind. Swiss Raclette is more difficult to find than the French version but it is worth looking for. Raclette can be found in most cheese shops or on line at Amazon. Raclette Cheese

Since Raclette is produced as a 12 pound wheel it is usually bought in smaller wedges and heated in the oven or on a Raclette grill. When the cheese is melted in the rind it is shaved onto casseroles or hot vegetable dishes. Raclette is often a component of cheese blends for fondue along with Gruyere, Emmental or Appenzeller and is also a wonderful table cheese  served with fresh fruit.

Wine Pairings: white Swiss Fendant or light fruity reds or any Beaujolais.