Stilton and Pear Paninni

Oh my goodness what a great sandwich!  I threw this together one night from a recipe I modified to use some random ingredients that I had on hand.  Since then, it’s become a regular on our menu.  You could use any kind of cheese, but the sharp tang of Stilton with dried cranberries is delicious when combined with the sweet juicy pear.  My kids really like this unusual sandwich, and that makes me happy.

Ingredients:

olive oil

individual ciabatta rolls, or 1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced

1-2 fresh, ripe red pears

1 pkg. Stilton cheese with dried cranberries (available at Sam’s) or other sharp cheese of choice

fresh spinach or arugula

honey

salt

freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Split ciabatta rolls (or slice loaf) and brush cut surface with olive oil.  Brown under the broiler with cut side up until lightly browned.

To assemble sandwiches, slice the Stilton cheese with dried cranberries into desired thickness.  It won’t slice perfectly because it is a somewhat dry cheese, and it’ll be a little crumbly, but it’ll work just fine on this sandwich.  Cut the fresh pear into slices.

On one half of the ciabatta roll, layer cheese, then pear slices.

Drizzle with a little honey,

then sprinkle with a little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Place a layer of fresh spinach or arugula on top,

then place sandwich on paninni press or sandwich grill.  Toast until nicely browned and heated through.

Enjoy!