Monday Weekday Supper: 5 easy steps to delicious homemade mozzarella, roasted tomato and prosciutto panini with a fresh, arugula salad

Monday Night Summer Supper 

is quick, light & easy:

mozzarella, prosciutto, roasted tomato & basil 

panini on fresh, French bread

5 quick steps to a delicious meal

that serves 4

Step 1:
First, I set a pretty blue and yellow table, 

I like to change it up each time and have various napkins, linens available.  Today it was a beautiful beach day, so I chose a sunny, yellow table and checkered blue napkins and lots of lemons and a large white Lilly in a tall glass mason jar to adorn my table.

 Step 2:
I organize the ingredients I had bought at the local, farm stand earlier that day on the way home from the beach.  
I picked up the freshest, local ingredients I could find.   

First, in-season tomatoes.  
I prefer cherry tomatoes in red or yellow combinations since they hold all the juices inside each bite.  I ask the butcher if I can taste the best prosciutto, then ask for it sliced very thinly.  I pick up one large freshly made mozzarella round from the farmer's market.  I cut the basil from my potted garden on my patio.
I buy local arugula and lemons for my salad.  
Of course, I chill a Long Island Rose in the fridge when home!

Step 3:
I roast the tomatoes whole on a large cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes with a sprinkle of good olive oil and two finely chopped garlic cloves.  I roast them until they are slightly puckered, and before they pop open.  
Once cooled, I slice the tomatoes with a sharp knife and set them aside onto the cutting board.

Step 4:

I build my sandwich by layering the ingredients
I slice a long baguette in half

layer thin slices of mozzarella down one side of the bread

a layer of thin slices of proscuitto on top

a layer of sliced tomatoes with the garlic on top 

I cut strips of the basil with a scissor and layer on top.

end with some shredded mozzarella on top

sprinkle the other side of the bread with with olive oil, kosher salt, cracked fresh papper and a touch of aged balsamic vinegar.
Note: for more flavor you can drizzle pesto or black olive tapenade on the the sandwich before cooking too, but today I made it simple as above.

Step 5: 
Meanwhile, have the panini oven plugged in and really hot.

Cut the long sandwich in half and place each half on the panini maker side by side, holding down the top carefully to assure the sandwich stays intact. Once it is even, then press down the panini hard to flatten the sandwich a bit.

watch the sandwich until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted lightly brown.

cut each sandwich in half for four good-size sandwiches.

I serve with a simple arugula salad with shaved parmigiana and toasted pinenuts 

(I had toasted the pinenuts in the oven the day before, and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge)

I squeeze a fresh lemon (through your fingertips to keep seeds from going into your salad)

 and sprinkle good (really good extra virgin) olive oil for the dressing

 

Supper is served:
bring the panini to the table with 
this fresh salad (remember to dress it just before serving) 
& chilled Rose wine!

Happy Nesting 
Tamara XO