Tomato Pesto Panini

I am crazy for paninis and this Tomato Pesto Panini is my favorite one ever!  I love the combination of fresh pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella on a crusty bread.  I have been ordering a similar version at Panera for ages and became very upset when they discontinued it.  You can always customize your own favorite combination and use this delicious pesto recipe!

What a poor idea on my part to type out this post while I am hungry.  Ugg…I don’t like staring at my favorite sandwich right now and my husband gobbled up all my pesto!

My neighbor has a little herb garden (I am totally jealous) and gave us a big bushel of basil.  I immediately knew that a nice pesto sauce was waiting to be made with these wonderfully fragrant herbs.  After making the first batch, my husband became a pesto addict!  He doesn’t like tomatoes, so he opted to have his pesto with a turkey sandwich.  He just doesn’t know what he is missing!  I really can’t think of a better pairing with pesto than a juicy tomato (his tastebuds’ loss).  Anyhow, what makes this funny is that he ate all the pesto and kept talking about wanting more.  I told him that he needs to plant me an herb garden.  HA…I am doing good to get him to cut the grass.  A couple days later he came inside with another bushel of fresh basil and informed me that he jumped the neighbor’s fence to get it.  I immediately panicked, thinking OMG you robbed the neighbor’s herb garden in broad daylight.  He just laughed at me and said that he asked the neighbor for more (HAHA).

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Tomato Pesto Panini

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

2 mins

Total Time

12 mins

 

Tomato Pesto Panini

Course: Panini

Servings: 2 Servings

Author: Holly- 3 Yummy Tummies

Ingredients

• Pesto:
• 3 C. Packed Basil Leaves
• 2 Tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1/2 C. Olive Oil
• 1/3 C. Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3. C. Pine Nuts
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• Panini:
• 1 Medium Tomato Sliced
• 4 Mozzarella Cheese Slices
• Focaccia or French Bread Loaf

Instructions

1. Pesto:
2. Place pine nuts in food processor or blender and pulse until finely ground.
3. Add olive oil, parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper.
4. Blend/pulse until combined.
5. Add Basil leaves and blend/pulse until combined.
6. Panini:
7. Cut French or Focaccia Bread to desired size.
8. Brush pesto sauce on both insides of the bread.
9. Add a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of pesto on both sides of the bread.
10. Add desired amount of tomato slices.
11. Place sandwich on a panini press and cook until outsides of bread start to brown and cheese melts.