1.31.2012

Guest Post: Tomato Pesto & Mozzarella Melts

Hey there, "Oven Love" readers! My name is Tina, from My Life as a Mrs! Natalie and I met in Atlanta last year at the BlogHer Food conference (Photo Here)... & we hit it off immediately! It's hard to NOT hit it off with Natalie - she is super sweet, bubbly, and an absolutely gorgeous person inside and out! :)  
Anyhow, since Natalie is adjusting to having sweet little Lucy around, I am here to give you all a little something tasty!!

Tomato, Pesto, and Mozzarella Melts:

Yes, they are as amazing as they sound (& look).

It's basically a grown up grilled cheese - Caprese with Pesto Style! And man is it GOOD (and EASY!)

We are talking 6 ingredients (most of which you can buy at any major grocery store):
  • Sour Dough Bread
  • Butter
  • Tomatoes
  • Fresh Mozzarella
  • Pesto (I like to make big batches and then freeze individual portions - but you can find pesto at the grocery store too!)
  • Balsamic Reduction (You can buy this at the store - or you can boil down regular balsamic vinegar in a saucepan until it reduces and gets thick and syrupy)
8 minutes on a griddle and BAM - Dinner. is. served.

Gotta love a fast and easy dinner: Great for weeknight meals -OR- for the new mom ;)


Natalie: I wish I was there to make these for you! Congrats on your beautiful little girl! Soak it up, girl! xoxo

Oven Love Readers: Thanks for letting me share some grub with ya'll! God Bless! Don't forget to stop on by my blog & say hi! :)

Same Ingredient Recipes ya'll may be interested in:

Yield: 4 sandwiches
Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

8 slices sour dough bread
4 tablespoons pesto
2 whole tomatoes, thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
Balsamic Reduction, for topping

Directions:

Build 4 sandwiches (Bread, 1 tablespoon pesto, a few slices of mozzarella cheese, a few slices of tomato, and lastly another slice of bread).

Add 1 tablespoon butter to a hot skillet and melt over medium high heat. Once the butter is nice and hot, carefully add 2 of the prepared "sandwiches" leaving a few inches between them. Place a piece of foil over them and then top with a heavy bottomed skillet (I used a cast iron), allowing the weight to press it down.

Heat for 4-5 minutes (until bottom is crisp and golden), then remove the heavy skillet, lift sandwich with spatula and add 1 more tablespoon butter. Carefully flip the sandwiches (uncooked side down) and then top again with the foil/heavy skillet. Heat for another 3-4 minutes until remaining side is golden and cheese is melted. Remove from skillet and allow to cool for 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining sanwiches!

Slice on a diagonal and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Serve hot!

Note: You could use a panini press if you have one!

 

Tomato, Pesto, and Mozzarella Melts

6 comments:

  1. I made a similar sandwich before but yours it so much prettier! Really like the balsamic reduction

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this. You do not have to talk me in to eating anything with pesto and mozarella on it. YUM. Great to "meet" you, Natalie and congrats on your baby girl!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the balsamic on this - totally elevates it! YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  4. YUM! That's the best type of sandwich out there.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! Great recipe!!! :)
    Hey I just wanted to mention that this is super hard to read with the background/grey writing! Just thought I'd give a little feedback :)

    Audra

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dra, there is a white background on top of the red that may not be loading for you- sorry for the inconvenience! New site design is coming soon- hopefully that will work better for you.

    ReplyDelete