Inspired by Elvis and his love for sweet, savory, and all manners of crazy (bacon, marshmallow cream and Miracle Whip, to name a few ingredients) stuffed in between two humble slices of bread, I came up with my new favorite lunch. This panino is layered with sharp cheddar, hazelnut butter, dried figs, and arugula, wedged between hearty wheat bread and grilled in my waffle iron! Never before have I picked out fried bits of crusty cheese from my beloved breakfast appliance, but man, it was so worth it. Read more for the details on this easy, flavorful sandwich.
After a year of ordering delicious, layered, grilled sandwiches from my neighborhood deli it dawned on me that I could create an oozing, multidimensional, toasty treat at home with my waffle iron. Really, a panini machine is just a waffle maker in disguise! To form my dream flavor combination, I turned to local, Oregon crops (hazelnuts, figs and arugula) as the base of this unctuous, plucky sandwich.
This sandwich is a great example of disparate, seemingly unlikely textures and flavors, coming together to form a unique and beautiful taste. To me, that's the magic of cooking! When I embarked on this sandwich, I wasn't sure how it would turn out, from the ingredients to the use of the waffle maker. Mind you, I've had many cooking failures, but I'm happy to report this Oregon Summer Panino was a triumph!
Sweet, salty, fatty and sharp — the balance of tastes is just right. It makes a lovely, sophisticated appetizer, when cut into long strips, but it's best right off the waffle iron served unadorned, with just a few pieces of fruit or greens. There's nothing like a perfect sandwich, right?
serves 1
2 pieces wheat bread
1 tablespoon hazelnut butter
1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese, sliced thin
10 arugula leaves
2 dried figs, sliced thin
1 tablespoon butter (for greasing the waffle iron)
Turn waffle maker to medium-high setting. Allow to warm up. Butter one side of each of your bread pieces, flip over and fill with ingredients. Spread hazelnut butter on non-buttered side of bread, then place arugula leaves, cheese and finishing with the dried fig slices. Top the sandwich with the other piece of buttered bread, so the buttered sides are facing out.
Place sandwich into heated waffle iron and close. Cook for about three minutes, until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
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Oh my goodness. I am on day 3 of soft foods after minor oral surgery and this is KILLING me! This sandwich looks delicious and I know it will be several days before I can manage to eat one. Next week I will try this out, for sure.
I have never tried to press sandwiches in a waffle iron, but it looks like a good trick.
Yay Oregon! Looks delicious as always, Leela. I love the days where I get to read your stuff:)
Whew! At first, I was afraid you'd actually made that sandwich WITH a waffle.
Hey Look what NIKE did (also Oregon folks) with a waffle iron!!!!! The Unsung waffle. Hail!!!!.
Great post.
Cremedela, what's wrong with making a waffle sandwich?
http://bruxie.com/
This is a great place that make really good ones.
put foil on the iron before it gets hot. won't work for waffles, but works fine when using waffle iron as a pannini maker.
I wish I could have that for lunch. Looks so summery and delicious!
The combination sounds wonderful.
I'll have to try using my waffle maker to panini a sandwich. Right now we use our George Foreman for that purpose (really, teh only thing we use it for) but I bet my 3yr old would get a big kick out of the waffle maker sandwich.
I have a crush on this sandwich.
What a brilliant idea! Clever and easy. I love it!
Ah, love this! Love that you called this gorgeous sandwich "unctuous and plucky." Love the crazy flavor combo. Love that you cleverly broadened the uses of your waffle maker. I need to get me one of those.
Too poor for a panini press, and a die hard lover of grilled sanwiches, I've long been making "waffle-wiches" in my hand-me-down waffle iron. Yes, it helps to have a layer of foil between the bread and the iron, in case any messy ingredients squeeze out, but they're great! Make lunch much more often than breakfast with my iron.