I think everyone has some version of a grilled cheese on their list of favorite comfort foods. I’m still a fan of the traditional slice of American cheese on white bread with lots of butter version, but sometimes your food needs to grow up. Just a little. This grown up grilled cheese is every bit as comforting as the ones you had as a child, just in a special grown up sort of way.
I think this sandwich could work with lots of delicious breads. I’m a huge fan of ciabatta bread. The holes in the ciabatta make this a little tricky, but it’s just a matter of stacking correctly to make it work.
Everything is better with mushrooms. This sandwich? No exception. I used baby portabella mushrooms. Just brush them with Mezzetta olive oil and grill.
Since I’m making a panini, the panini press was perfect for cooking the mushrooms. I like my mushrooms pretty well done, but it only takes about a minute with the press closed.
Mezzetta Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Deli-Sliced Roasted Red Pepper Strips are the star of this sandwich.
Layer your bread with thin slices of fresh mozzarella. Spread the mozzarella with sun dried tomato pesto. (If you apply this directly to the bread the bread will go a bit limp.) Top that with the grilled mushrooms, roasted red peppers and sun dried tomatoes. If you can find Mezzetta’s julienne cut sun dried tomatoes you’re in luck! If you can’t find those, then slice whole sun dried tomatoes into thin strips. If your tomatoes are in olive oil you will want to remove as much of the oil as possible by placing them in paper towels and giving them a squeeze.
Add another thin layer of mozzarella and top with another slice of ciabatta. Now it’s ready for the panini press. (Or your griddle, grill pan or skillet.)
Cook until the sandwich reaches your desired level of toasty, cheesy yumminess! It’s sure to provide some comfort-and it’s even got a few servings of veggies in there, too!
Think you have a sandwich recipe even better than mine? Then why not enter your recipe in Mezzetta’s Make That Sandwich contest? Someone’s going to win $25,000. And that someone could be you!
- Sliced Ciabatta
- Baby Portabella Mushrooms
- Mezzetta Olive Oil
- Mezzetta Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
- Mezzetta Deli-Sliced Roasted Bell Pepper Strips
- Mezzetta Julienne Cut Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Fresh Mozzarella
- Brush the mushrooms with olive oil and grill on the panini press for approximately one minute.
- Add a layer of fresh mozzarella to your ciabatta slices and spread with sun dried tomato pesto. (Apply the pesto on top of the cheese, rather than on top of the bread.) Layer with grilled mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and roasted bell pepper strips. (Squeeze excess olive oil from sun dried tomatoes before using.) Top with additional fresh mozzarella and a slice of ciabatta.
- Cook in panini press until desired level of toasting is reached.