White Bean Grilled Panini With Basil, Tomato, And Mozzarella

Bring on the flavors of summer with this delicious grilled panini adapted from A Little Bit Crunchy A Little Bit Rock And Roll's recipe for Provolone White Bean Grilled Panini With Tomato & Basil.

I didn't want to make changes to Jenn's recipe. It sounded great just as it was with white beans, basil, tomato, provolone, mayonnaise and red onions. I could just imagine that creamy blend and looked forward to those flavors.

But when I looked for the provolone at around 7 pm last night it was gone! My little cheese robbers ate it without my knowing. All that was left was fresh mozzarella so I made a little change. The mayonnaise, I thought, would go well with the smokey flavor of provolone but I didn't think so with mozzarella. So I substituted extra virgin olive oil for mayonnaise in this version. I also didn't have a red onion so I used a shallot. However, I'm still thinking about her recipe and can't wait to make it her way. My son would have preferred it also since he loves sandwiches with mayonnaise.

White Bean Grilled Panini With Basil, Tomato And Mozzarella
Ingredients for 4 sandwiches:

1 medium shallot, minced
Between 1/4 -1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
About 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pepper to taste

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

2 balls of fresh mozzarella, thickly sliced

Italian bread, preferably a grain mix or wheat, sliced

1 can white beans, cannellini or navy, slightly smashed

Mix shallot, basil, oil, and pepper together first and let sit while preparing the rest of the ingredients. Slice tomato, cheese, and bread. Slightly mash beans.

To put this panini together:

Combine oil, shallots, basil, and pepper.

Slice Italian bread and lay slices out on sheet pan. I bought "rustic" Italian bread from the farmers' market over the weekend, thinking it was a grain blend like last week, but it doesn't look that way. I might have grabbed the wrong bag.

Slice tomatoes and cheese. Spread basil mixture over each slice of bread then layer sliced tomatoes over half the bread. Oops! Here is where I should have added the beans. Add beans before the cheese so it helps keep the sandwich together. Don't forget the beans!

Lay down thick slices of mozzarella.

Warm up the grill. Cook over medium heat. Press sandwiches down with a weighted pan. Flip when nice grill marks are achieved.

I can just imagine how amazing this sandwich will taste when my fresh garden tomatoes come in. Can't wait.

To make Jenn's creamy panini go here: http://alittlebitcrunchyalittlebitrock.blogspot.com/2011/05/provolone-white-bean-grilled-panini.html.