tomato-edamame cheese panini

Something about this recipe really appealed to me.  I was looking for something easy and light, but full of flavor.  You see I’m on vacation this week!  It’s not one of those ‘laying around reading novels and eating pie’ kind of vacations.  It’s a ‘let’s see how many projects I can get done while off work’ stay-cations.  I’m pretty sure the only thing I will get done is painting the front hall and 1/2 bath.  I’m a very slow painter, especially when I have to do two coats on the ceilings, walls and trim.  But I am a fast panini maker and this dinner was ready in no time!

I love this part … cut the top off a bulb of garlic.  I peeled away several cloves before cutting the top off so I didn’t have too much left over.  Put the garlic in a small custard cup and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover with foil and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes or until soft.  Cool and set aside.

Garlic smells so good when baked like this.

You’ll also need 12 ounces of shelled sweet soybeans (edamame).  You can use fresh or frozen.  If using frozen cook according to package directions. 

These are fresh, fully cooked and ready to eat.  I did warm them up a bit and set aside to cool.

I ran out to the garden and snipped 1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley. 

Rinse soy beans in cold water and drain well.

Chop the parsley and juice 1 lemon for about 1/4 cup fresh juice.

Measure 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin.

Put the edamame, three cloves of garlic, salt, cumin, lemon juice and 1/4 cup water in a food processor. 

Pulse until it forms a paste.

Stir in the fresh parsley and prepare the panini.

Slice a ciabatta loaf in serving size pieces and slice each in half.  Spread the edamame on each side of the bread slices and top one with a thick slice of ripe tomato.

Top the other side with a soft cheese that melts well.  I used Fontina cheese.

Grill the panini until the cheese begins to melt and the sandwich is warmed through.

Serve and enjoy!

1 bulb garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 12-oz package, fresh or frozen shelled sweet soybeans (edamame)

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 cup snipped fresh Italian parsley

Ciabatta loaf

4 ounces Fontina cheese

1 large tomato, sliced thick

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Slice the top off the garlic bulb.  Place bulb, cut side up, in a custard cup and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes or until garlic is soft.  Cool and set aside.

Cook soybeans per package instructions.  Drain well and cool.  For soybean spread, squeeze 3 garlic bulbs in a food processor.  Add the soy beans, water, lemon juice, salt and cumin.  Process until smooth.  Stir in parsley. 

For each panini, spread one side of each slice with the soy bean spread.  Top with tomato and cheese and cook until cheese is melted, sandwich is warmed through and bread is golden brown.

~~~~~~~~~

Well my friends, back to the painting mess.  We also had the air conditioning repair man here today … 3 times.  But it’s fixed and the house is cool.  It was 98 degrees today with a heat index of 108.  It’s still spring!  What up with that?  Weird weather this year, everywhere.

Take care!

Thanks so much for stopping by!