Mozzarella, Ham, and Basil Panini

D made these for lunch on Saturday. Really good. Of course we didn't have ciabatta, but Kroger had whole wheat bread on sale for $1.00.

He didn't use tomatoes on his, but did on mine. He said mine was a bit messy due to that.

Mozzarella, Ham, and Basil Panini

A few special ingredients--like freshly baked ciabatta bread or imported Dijon mustard--make a quick, simple sandwich seem like a treat.

Other Time: 20 minutes minutes
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

1 (16-ounce) loaf ciabatta, cut in half horizontally
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/3 cups (8 ounces) thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
12 basil leaves
8 ounces sliced 33%-less-sodium cooked deli ham (such as Boar's Head)
2 sweetened hot cherry peppers, sliced
1 large plum tomato, thinly sliced
Cooking spray

1. Brush cut side of the bottom bread half with mustard; brush cut side of top half with vinegar. Top bottom half with mozzarella, basil, ham, peppers, and tomato. Top with remaining bread half.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sandwich to pan; top with another heavy skillet. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Cut sandwich into 6 wedges.

CALORIES 371 ; FAT 12.5g (sat 6.1g,mono 5g,poly 0.6g); CHOLESTEROL 46mg; CALCIUM 220mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.9g; SODIUM 976mg; PROTEIN 20.2g; FIBER 1.8g; IRON 3mg

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2010