| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons minced shallots (2 shallots)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 6 anchovy fillets, drained and minced (optional)
- 2 tablespoons drained capers
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes
- 4 individual ciabatta rolls, cut in half horizontally
- 6 to 8 ounces lightly salted fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- For the vinaigrette, whisk the shallots, garlic, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, stir in the anchovies (if using), capers, and olives, and set aside.
- Core the tomatoes and slice them 1/3 inch thick. Place the bottom halves of the ciabattas, cut side up, on a sheet pan. Place a layer of tomato on each bread, spoon on 2/3 of the vinaigrette, add a layer of mozzarella, and sprinkle with the basil leaves. Spoon the remaining vinaigrette on the cut sides of the ciabatta tops and place them, cut side down, on the sandwiches. Place a second sheet pan on the sandwiches and put weights on top, such as cans of tomatoes. Allow the sandwiches to sit at room temperature for an hour for the flavors to blend.
- Heat an electric panini press and toast the sandwiches for 5 to 10 minutes, until the bread is toasted and the mozzarella starts to melt. Cut each sandwich in half and serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 763 |
| Total Fat | 40 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 63 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 44 mg |
| Sodium | 1192 mg |
Reviews
Wow, this was really good! I followed the recipe, except I did only use 1 tsp salt. It was perfect. I made the whole recipe, but only made one sandwich, so I have leftovers of the vinaigrette and it separated after putting in the fridge overnight. With the olives and capers in it, it’s hard to whisk it back to being thick again, so next time I will cut the recipe depending on how many sandwiches I plan to make. Chop the olives small so that they stay on the sandwich…my bad!!
This recipe and watching the show I can’t wait to make them they looks delicious it does says portable how long are good being portable if I make them drive 45 minutes and then maybe wait an hour before we eat will they still be good
Fantastic flavors! I did as advised by others and cut down on the salt. I used only 1 tbsp anchovy paste and 1 tbsp capers. Will definitely make this again.
I halved ingredients of this recipe for 2 servings. I find many of Ina’s recipes call for excessive salt. Several reviewers said this was too salty, so I made modifications. I withheld the capers, did not add any salt. After tasting all combined, decided to not add capers at all. The vinegars gave plenty acidic brightness, and anchovies (used paste) gave all the salt needed. I did not salt the mozzarella. I used cast iron pan with olive oil to grill. My finicky husband loved the sandwich (he didn’t need to know about anchovies.) This is a weekend recipe due to prep time. I will make in future with marinated artichokes and crispy chicken bacon.
These were absolutely delicious, I decided to not add any salt to the vinaigrette as I used anchovies and it came out perfect. Even had some left to dip the sandwiches in! The only downfall to this was how soggy the bread got after sitting for an hour, but I will definitely be making this again!
I made these sandwiches tonight and they were amazing. Based on reviews, I reduced the amount of salt I used to 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the vinaigrette and used one teaspoon of anchovy paste instead of whole anchovies. I weighed them down with a baking sheet with cans of produce on top for about an hour. Also, I used the Seattle based Macrina Bakers Olivetta bread. I toasted it in a large skillet with a little butter and weighted down the sandwiches with a hot skillet, toasted about a minute or two on both sides. I served it with my fresh corn chowder. OMG! Really tasty! These sandwiches are really wonderful and make dinners special!
Totally delicious, I’ve made these several times and everyone loved it. When tomatoes are not in season, I’ve used Ina’s recipe for slow roasted Roma tomatoes which gives a more intense flavor. I don’t use the anchovies. The vinaigrette is what puts this over the top…so delicious.
The idea of this sounds wonderful, but it left a lot to be desired. First of all, I was worried the bread would get soggy and it did in places. It was definitely too salty and I wouldn’t have added any salt, already having olives, capers and anchovy. The tomato and mozzarella were bland and the mozzarella didn’t melt well. I would not make this again. This is my first negative review for Ina Garten. Normally her recipes are spot-on.
This was really tasty but it was a little too salty for my taste. Between the anchovies, olives, and capers, I would probably cut down the salt to a teaspoon and then taste. This was just for me, so I cut the recipe in half and saved half the dressing for the next day to make another sandwich. I almost liked it better on day 2. I’m also not usually a fan of basil, but I like to follow Ina’s recipes exactly because her flavors are always so good. Definitely glad I added it, it gave it a nice bright flavor. I didn’t have a panini press, so I just put it in a normal pan and used another sauce pan heated on the stove to press down on it for a minute or so. I then flipped it, used the pan to press down again for a minute, and then covered it for a couple minutes (checking after a minute to make sure it wasn’t burning) to help melt the cheese. It was just right. It’s a little more effort than I usually put in for lunch, but I’ll definitely make again.
Awesome