24.7.06

Amsterdam panini


I´ve struggled against having a sandwich press for a long time. My kitchen is big and airy, but doesn´t have a lot of cupboard space, and what there is is very cluttered. There´s really no room for anything else, and it doesn´t help that I buy so many little gadgets and jars and tins of exotic ingredients.

But one day I gave in. There was a spare little press at my mother´s house, just begging to find a new home.It´s not the fancy kind with removable plates for easy cleaning, and it´s small, only for a single loaf-bread sandwich.

But already I love it.

There´s no end to the combinations. My golden rule was anything goes, as long there´s a lot of cheese to melt and go stringy. But even that can be ignored, as in these excellent  olive paste and tuna panini by the Wednesday Chef.

However, the house favourite is still what we call the Amsterdam Sandwich, which is as un-Dutch as you can go.
Last summer we spent a long weekend in Amsterdam, where we fell in love with a little hole in the wall italian sandwich bar. It was on a broad street in the museum quarter, and had a couple of benches where you could munch your food and watch the leisurely bicycle traffic roll by.
You made your sandwich to order, and of course J doesn´t know the meaning of restraint, so his usual was a delicious hotch potch of ingredients.
This is the approximation I make here, and a pretty good ersatz panino it is.

White loaf bread
serrano ham (doesn´t have to be the all-out amazing stuff), sliced very thin
fresh mozzarella (ditto about amazingness)
 roast tomatoes
 black olives
pesto

It´s quite a mess, but because this kind of machine presses the edges, nothing is allowed to escape from the sandwich. When you take it to the plate, you can´t tell what´s inside until you slice it, and the mozzarella oozes all over, and the basil and tomatoes aroma wafts up.
A winner.

The drawing is a sketch from a trip to Amsterdam in 1998.

9 comentarios:

LE BLOG dijo...

Vamos a Amsterdam en Septiembre a ver a Madonna!!!!!!! (regalo de aniversario de David) así que explícame bien dónde está ese bar Xim! Al lado de los museos, pero es fácil de encontrar, no tiene pérdida?

Jen dijo...

I know what you mean about kitchen space, I barely have any room for anything.
This sandwich sounds delicious and very easy to make. I have a similar type of sandwhich press, so i will be making these very soon. Thanks.

Anónimo dijo...

Sounds like a delicious sandwich and thanks for the reminder about your roasted tomatoes. As soon as the weather cools off just a little I need to try those.

Love the cafe picture.

LE BLOG dijo...

¿y nuestra Guru dónde está? Seguro que ya está on holidays

Anónimo dijo...

thanks for helping me decide what to have for lunch today!
usually i sit at my desk and hem and haw for at least an hour....
thai? vietnamese? pasta? pizza? street meat? salad? sandwich?
today, it was easy and unequivocal: PANINI
wasn't as good as this sounds, but it sure did hit the spot!

Raquel dijo...

I gave mine away!!! it was too dangerous having a sandwich every night ...

(¡Hola lebloguito!)

Anónimo dijo...

I am clearly going to have to get one of these sandwich presses, and as soon as the weather cools off the roasted tomatoes are on my "must make" list! They sound so versatile!

lobstersquad dijo...

Le blog: eso está hecho
Jenjen: I hope you like them.
Julie: I make batches of those tomatoes early in the morning if I´m feeling industrious, and it pays off.
May: thanks so much.
Ann. glad to be of help. And jealous of your having so much choice!
Guru: I know. too dangerous. Let´s see how I do
Rebecca: I held out for long, but they´re really very good to have around, those sandwich presses.

Julie dijo...

I LOVE a good panini, but have resisted getting a sandwich press for years. I figure, I can always use my George Foreman Grill (a funny little american contraption much like a panini press, but you run the risk of totally squashing your sandwich), or just leave it to the pros at gourmet sandwich shops. I am glad you have had success with yours. It is so very tempting...

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