Made with sweet basil, ripe tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, a freshly-pressed caprese panini is one of the tastiest handheld meals around! Easy to make, and ready to eat in 10 minutes.Ready in 10 minutes.
Whether you are making your sandwich cold-pressed or grilled, the assembly process is the same.
Spread pesto onto one side of each piece of bread. Layer arugula onto one pesto-covered slice, and basil onto the other.Put the sliced tomatoes on top of the basil, and mozzarella slices on top of the arugula, and then put the whole thing together.
With your sandwich now assembled, you have three choices. You can (1) Eat the sandwich cold, as is, (2) Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you're ready to grill or eat it, or (3) Grill it now.
Grilled Caprese Panini
Preheat the grill.Lightly brush the outside faces of the sandwich with olive oil.Grill the prepared sandwich for 3-5 minutes on each side. (If you use a panini press or waffle iron, it is not necessary to flip the sandwich, as you are cooking both sides at the same time.)Allow the sandwich to set for 5 minutes before cutting.
Easy Homemade Basil Pesto (optional)
Put the basil, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor, molcajete (Mexican mortar and pestle), or small blender cup. Drizzle in olive oil. Process until the the pine nuts and garlic are the consistency of very course sand.
Add the parmesan and work it in, by pulsing once or twice, or by working it with a pestle in the molcajete.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
When grilling caprese sandwiches, a panini press is helpful, and it gives you those cool little ridges and valleys on the sides of your sandwich, but you can easily grill your sandwich other ways:
Electric Grill or Skillet - Set the grill to 275°-300°F (135°-150°C) and grill the sandwich low and slow; about 4-5 minutes on each side. Use a bacon/sandwich press or a small frying pan on top of the sandwich to press it down as it grills.
Waffle Iron - This is by far my favorite: it gives your sandwiches a funky waffle pattern as it presses it!
Grill Pan & Press - Heat up the grill pan and then use a bacon/sandwich press to press the sandwich from the top. Leave the press or pan on top while the sandwich grills.
Skillet & Press - Same using as a grill pan.
Double Frying Pan - Use a smaller frying pan on top of the sandwich to press it down as it grills in a large frying pan.
If you just aren't into any of those ideas, just grill it as you would a grilled cheese sandwich.