We love caprese salads so much we had Phil’s BBQ change their menu and serve it at our wedding (They did a great job too). So, it should come as no surprise that we had to try and turn the art of the caprese into a sandwich. A panini sandwich to be exact. It has all the classic ingredients: Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. For the bread we went with our own homemade pesto-sourdough bread, but any regular sourdough will do just fine.

Caprese Panini Recipe

• 2 slices of bread
• 4 slices of mozzarella (enough to cover 70% of the sandwich)
• 4 slices of tomato
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 6 fresh basil leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

On the outside of the sandwich, rub the bread in a little olive oil. This will give it crispness after you panini it. Yes, we just made up that verb.

Inside the sandwich, lay out the mozzarella, then tomatoes, and make sure that they cover most of the interior surface of the sandwich. Spread the basil leaves on top, and sprinkle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over it. Add salt and pepper if you desire. Close the sandwich, and place it in a pre-heated panini maker at medium-hot. Make sure to push it somewhat flat while it grills, and remove when it has the grill marks we so desire. Enjoy while hot.

Note: We heard, but it hasn’t been confirmed that Wayne at Phil’s BBQ now has caprese salads as a regular menu item for catering events. Ask about it for your next wedding.

P.S. Chad, if you read this… what about that lunch?

P.P.S. Chad is one of the guys at Phil’s BBQ, he owes us a lunch. Those guys are awesome.. More sandwiches with leftovers coming up for you meat lovers!

P.P.P.S We use a DeLonghi CGH800-U Retro Panini Grill, works great, but we haven’t tried it with much heavy use yet.