Grilled Vegetable Panini With Basil Pesto

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 small japanese eggplants or 1 large regular eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 french baguettes (each about 2 feet long)
• 1/2 cup basil pesto, recipe follows
• 8 ounces water-packed fresh mozzarella cheese, drained, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper
• 8 large basil leaves (optional)
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup about extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 for panini:.
• 2 heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. drizzle the oil over the eggplant, zucchini, and onion slices, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• 3 working in batches, grill the eggplant, zucchini, and onions until they are tender and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes per side.
• 4 cool completely.
• 5 cut each baguette into 6 pieces.
• 6 working with one baguette piece at a time, slice in half and spread both sides with the pesto.
• 7 working with the bottom slice of the baguette, stack 2 slices of eggplant, 2 slices zucchini, 1 slice onion, 1 slice tomato, 1 slice mozzarella, and 1 slice of roasted pepper.
• 8 sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• 9 place top half of baguette on top and continue with remaining baguette.
• 10 (the sandwiches can be made 4 hours ahead. wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate.).
• 11 for basil pesto:.
• 12 in a blender, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until finely chopped.
• 13 with the blender still running, gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency.
• 14 transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese.
• 15 season the pesto with more salt and pepper, to taste.
• 16 (the pesto can be made 2 days ahead. cover and refrigerate.)
• 17 yields 1 cup and takes about 10 minutes to prepare.