The Garden Panini (Now with Cheese!)

The hospital I volunteer at lets its volunteers eat one meal free each week at their cafeteria.  I know, hospital food, right?  Wrong.  This hospital food is actually pretty well-known for being awesome.  I have literally seen couples out on dates to this hospital’s cafeteria.  Which, kinda weird, right?  Or is it just me?  “Thanks so much for agreeing to go out with me.  I was thinking we’d go to this quaint little restaurant right in the middle of town…I mean, it’s the hospital, but…Hey!  Where are you going?”

And we’re back on track.  So being a vegetarian means I don’t eat probably 75% of their incredible wares, but I jump on every vegetarian opportunity that presents itself.  Enter the artichoke panini.

The cafeteria cycles their menu, so it only comes around every once in a while, but this artichoke panini has never disappointed.  It’s warm and filling and delicious and pretty much everything I could ever want in a panini. 

So the other day I decided that I was going to copycat this recipe for The Man and me to have for dinner.  Unfortunately, there was no recipe to copycat, as the hospital does not post their menu online, so I had to guess and improvise (story of my life when it comes to recipes).  Enjoy my version of The Hospital Panini!  No, that doesn’t sound appetizing.  The Garden Panini (Now with Cheese)!

The best part of this panini (and any panini) is it’s all about whatever you want.  This would be equally good with olives, mushrooms, kale, or even turkey or ham in place of the artichoke.  Just don’t pile on too much or it’s gonna look like Carl’s Jr. up in your house.  I used spinach, artichoke hearts, red Bell peppers, tomato, red onion, parmesan, mozzarella, and some ciabatta rolls.

Start off chopping up the pepper and onion – I like mine in cubes but again, all up to you.  Fry the onion with a bit of butter until it becomes almost translucent.

If you’re lazy like me and you bought grated cheese then you’re good to go, otherwise grate your cheeses up.

Cut the rolls in half (I tried to leave ‘hinges,’ but that didn’t work out for me – maybe it’ll be better for you) and start piling on the goods.  By the way, I just kept the hearts like they were when I pulled them out of the jar this time around; when I made these later I separated the hearts a bit more and The Man said the sandwiches were much better because of it.

The Man likes tomatoes.  I do not. 

Cook your panini for about 6 minutes at medium heat, or until the cheese melts.  When we got married The Man and I registered for this griddle.  It’s seriously one of my favorite cooking utensils, but that might just be because I love grilled cheese sandwiches.  It can also cook burgers, chicken, and pretty much any other solid food you want grilled – pancakes are probably a no-no due to its slope ;)  The only downside is its size; I could only cook one panini at a time.  

Not so great...

Perfect!

Let it cool off for a bit and then enjoy your crunchy, juicy, healthy-ish goodness!

The Garden Panini (Now with Cheese!)

makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

¼ T butter

½ C chopped red onion

1 C spinach

¼ C red Bell pepper

~8 artichoke hearts (I used marinated ones from a jar)

½ C mozzarella

¼ C Parmesan

1 medium tomato, thinly sliced

2 ciabatta rolls

Directions:

-chop the onion and pepper, grate the cheeses

-fry the onion with the butter until onions are translucent

-cut the rolls in half and pile on the veggies and cheese

-grill for about 6 minutes at medium heat (until the cheese melts)

-enjoy!