Grilled Gruyere Paninis

This sandwich is definitely a pumped up grilled cheese. In fact, I'm not sure you can really call it grilled cheese once you're done adding all of the other ingredients, but it is sooooo tasty. I made these in my panini press. However, if you don't have one, you could just make them in a skillet like you would a traditional grilled cheese sandwich, being careful that you don't lose the fillings when you flip it.

Grilled Gruyere Paninis

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

4 oz Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced

5 dill pickle spears, thinly sliced

1/2 pound peppered turkey breast, thinly sliced

Dijon mustard (or yellow mustard)

8 slices whole wheat bread

First, heat 1 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cover. Stir occasionally so that they brown evenly. Cook until they are soft and slightly browned (about 10 minutes).

Heat your panini press or flat skillet/griddle.Using the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, thinly coat 4 slices of bread. Place the buttered side down on your work surface. Top the each piece of bread with a slice of the cheese, then pickles. Divide the onions evenly among the four sandwiches and place on top of the pickles. Top each sandwich with a few slices of the turkey. Spread the mustard on the remaining four pieces of bread and top each stack to complete the sandwiches. Finally, butter the tops of each piece of bread (this will help the bread to brown nicely when you cook it). 

Cook your sandwiches in the panini press or on your skillet until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Cut each sandwich in half. Serve right away.

I served my grilled Gruyere panini with a zesty tomato soup.

Enjoy!

recipe adapted from foodandwine.com