Tuscan Chicken Panini
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
4 foccacia rolls -- split in half (I subbed some hearty sourdough bread from my favorite local bakery (Back Alley Bakery in Hastings, NE)
4 slices provolone cheese (be sure to get the smoked provolone)
12 strips roasted red peppers -- drained of liquid from the jar (I roasted 2 red peppers)
4 basil leaves
additional Italian dressing
Italian seasoning
Marinate chicken breasts in Italian dressing for about 40 minutes. Heat an outdoor grill or George grill or grill pan on the stove and grill chicken breasts until cooked through. Allow to cool. Brush each half of the foccacia roll with some additional Italian dressing; on one half of the foccacia layer on one chicken breast, 3 strips of roasted red pepper, one slice of provolone cheese and one fresh basil leaf and top with second half of foccacia roll. Brush outside of the foccacia bread with olive oil and sprinkle top with Italian seasoning blend. Place on George Gill or use a panini press with a grill pan and grill until bread is toasted lightly and cheese is melted.
I do not own a Panini maker and don’t really have the room to store yet another small kitchen appliance. I use a cast iron grill (the backside of my cast iron griddle) to do a lot of indoors grilling. It does a super job of making things like chicken breasts, burgers, sausages, etc., Last night, I used it to grill the chicken, to make the roasted peppers AND to actually grill the panini.
Once my chicken breasts and peppers were done and the sandwiches were assembled, then they went onto the grill and were weighted down with a skillet.
PERFECT PANINI!! Thanks Nancy for sharing and allowing me to share your recipe!
I'm linking into Michael's Foodie Friday. Check out all the great recipes there :)
