Description
This crunchy ham tomato pesto panini is easy to make and so delicious. Great option for family dinner or Sunday brunch.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 20 slices black forest ham
- 8 slices Swiss Cheese (I used the longer Finlandia)
- 4 tablespoons pesto (homemade or store-bought)
- 8 tomato slices (2 large tomatoes)
- 1/3 cup olive oil (reg. or extra virgin)
- 8 slices of good sourdough bread - round loaf if you can (see note #1)
Would you like to save this?
You'll also be the first to hear about new recipes in my weekly-ish newsletter! :)
Instructions
- Slice the tomatoes into approximately ¼” rounds and set aside on plate. You don’t want these too thick because it will bulk up the panini too much.
- Brush olive oil on one side of four of the slices of bread and place them oil-side down on your cutting board. I used a round/oval loaf which gives you a slightly larger sandwich. You can use square bread too - don't worry. I put a piece of parchment paper over the cutting board but you can skip that if you don’t have it.
- Plan for five slices of ham per sandwich. I folded the slices in half and placed two folded slices on the top half of the slice of bread and two folded slices on the bottom half of the slice of bread. Place one final slice of folded ham on top.
- Add two tomato slices on top of the ham on each sandwich.
- Using a kitchen tablespoon spoon, spread the pesto across the top slice of bread. You can use more or less pesto if you want. I used enough that there is a thin coating on the top slice of bread.
- I used two slices of the long Finlandia Swiss cheese. I folded both slices in half and placed one folded slice on top half of bread and the other on the bottom half of the slice of bread.
- Flip the slice of bread with the pesto and Swiss cheese onto the bottom slice with the ham and tomato. I used an oval/round loaf of bread, and I like to make sure the rounded slice on the bottom is matched with the round slice on the top so the sandwich is more uniform.
- Brush the olive oil on the top slice of bread and these are ready to be cooked.
- I used my nana’s old countertop griddle which has lasted for decades somehow. If you don’t have a counter griddle, you can use two large pans. I heated the griddle to 325-350. Wait until the griddle (or pan) is heated up before you add the sandwiches.
- Place the sandwiches side by side then place a heavy cast iron skillet on top to press the sandwiches down. My skillet fits over two sandwiches so I alternated the skillet between the sandwiches until the bottom was nice and golden brown (about 4-5 minutes, but take a peek before then too to make sure you don’t burn. All griddles are different.) Read tips in blog post for cast iron skillet alternatives for pressing.
- Once the paninis are cooked on one side, turn them carefully to cook on the other side. Same method with the cast iron skillet.
- Once the paninis are cooked on both sides – serve immediately. These are juicy from the ham and the tomatoes and will get soggy if they sit too long and you want that crunch!! J This sandwich works well with a side salad.
Notes
- This panini will taste infinitely better if you use a high-quality bread. The bread must also be sturdy so it can withstand being pressed by a cast iron skillet.