This chicken and pesto panini recipe was created when, on a cold day after school, my son’s friend asked if we could get sandwiches from Corner Bakery. I already had a long afternoon of shuttling kids around and I just wanted to get home and stay warm so i asked her what the ingredients were and decided to make it at home for the whole group. We now call the sandwich ‘The Ellen’ and the best part is you don’t even need a panini press to make it. I have a grill pan and I place another cast iron on top to press down and create a crispy and hot panini that we all love. I love to serve it with my lobster bisque for a soup and sandwich combo that’s hard to beat!
Chicken Pesto Panini
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 15
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 8 slices sourdough bread
- 16 thinly sliced provolone cheese
- 16 thinly sliced oven roasted chicken breast
- 1 cup basil pesto
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups packed organic spinach
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat your griddle pan to medium heat
- In a small mixing bowl combine the basil pesto and the mayonnaise and stir to combine
- Brush one side of the sourdough bread lightly with olive oil and place oil side down on the griddle pan
- Brush the other side with the pesto may mixture
- Layer with a slice of provolone, two slices of chicken, a few sun dried tomato slivers and half a cup of spinach
- Brush the other side of the sourdough bread with the pesto mayo mixture and a slice of cheese and place cheese side down on top of the sandwich
- Brush the other side of the bread with olive oil, then use the other cast iron skillet to press down on the sandwich
- Allow to cook for about 2 minutes, flip, press down with the cast iron and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes or until the cheese melts
- Repeat to make the remaining sandwiches and serve
