Italian Panini

I use an Optigrill for making panini, but you can make this sandwich without any special cookware. There is a good video for this sandwich on myrecipes.com.

I took a lot of liberties with the recipe - deli ham instead of prosciutto, Italian cheese blend instead of Mozzarella, cherry tomatoes instead of plum. 

4 servings

12 calculated points

Albarino, Gamay

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) loaf French bread, cut in half horizontally
• ¼ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 ounces very thin slices prosciutto
• 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Hollow out top and bottom halves of bread, leaving a 1/2-inch-thick shell; reserve torn bread for another use. Spread 2 tablespoons mayonnaise over cut side of each bread half. Sprinkle basil and 1/2 cup cheese on bottom half of loaf. Top evenly with prosciutto, tomato slices, and remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover with top half of loaf. Cut filled loaf crosswise into 4 equal pieces.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sandwiches to pan. Place a cast-iron or other heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; press gently to flatten sandwiches. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until bread is toasted (leave cast-iron skillet on sandwiches while they cook).