I felt the urge to find a recipe for the Secret Recipe Club this month that held onto the last few warms days. I wanted to pretend that it was still 80 degrees out and the fresh fruit and vegetables were plentiful. This Panini helped me do that for a few minutes. Yes the strawberries weren’t perfect and the basil was spendy but while we ate this it was summer in our dining room.
Jaida and I have a lot of things in common, 30 something, business professionals with cute dogs. Her dog is really cute! And Clifford and Tanner always make me happy. I was browsing through all her recipes and came across a Strawberry Basil and Goat Cheese Panini and I knew I had to make it. An excuse to break out the panini press and have those few last thoughts of summer before we hibernate for the winter. Considering it’s 30 degrees as a write this post and I have many layers on at the dining room table.
Crunch bread, warm melted goat cheese, fresh basil and sweet strawberries. Oh, and the balsamic honey dipping sauce is pretty amazing. I may make another batch of the sauce for other sandwiches.
Strawberry Basil and Goat Cheese Panini
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Keywords: sandwich vegetarian
6036087Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 4 slices of whole wheat bread
- 3 oz goat cheese
- 6-7 strawberries
- a few basil leaves, whole or roughly chopped
- black pepper, freshly ground
- 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup honey
Instructions
To make the balsamic honey sauce, combine the balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the liquid is reduced by about half (15 minutes or more). Pour the liquid into a small bowl to cool while you make the panini.
Spread a layer of goat cheese over all four slices of bread. Thinly slice the strawberries and divide them among two of the slices of bread. Add the basil to the other two slices, and sprinkly black pepper over all. Top each of the strawberry-covered slices with one of the basil covered slices.
Preheat a panini press to medium/medium high. Place sandwiches on the press and cook through. Give it a really good press at the end to ensure the bread is nice and crispy and the goat cheese is melted.
Slice each sandwich in half and serve warm with the balsamic honey sauce.
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