Peach panini

Sweet, tart, creamy, tangy, and bitter – lots of subtle flavor in this summery panini.

Trying to bring back the local food culture stateside, I focused on this in particular while gathering the ingredients for this dish:

• Peaches from New Jersey
• Tomatoes from Vermont (so perfect)
• Arugula from Long Island
• Mozzarella from Brooklyn
• & Pumpernickel bread from around the corner
• Caramelized onion tapenade comes from Napa Valley but you are welcome to substitute any homemade onion chutney that you like.
• You’ll also need some salt, pepper, and olive oil

*note: if you don’t have a panini press, you can use a grill pan like I did here*

1. Slice the tomatoes and the cheese like you would for a generous sandwich. The Jersey peaches are not nearly as juicy as their Georgia cousins, but that makes them quite easy to slice into about the same size as the tomatoes.

2. Spread onion tapenade on one piece of bread. Heat up the grill pan with some olive oil at medium-low heat and grill that one bread, set aside for a minute. This panini will be difficult to flip if you don’t have a press so, this just makes it a little easier.

3. Assemble your panini – layer the cheese, tomato, peach and arugula on a piece of bread, place in the grill pan, and top/cover with the grilled bread. Grill just until the mozzarella has melted.

Enjoy another taste of summer!