Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, and pounded thin
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers (bottled or canned)
• 4 slices provolone cheese (sliced thick)
• 1/2-3/4 cup pesto sauce (bottled or homemade)
• 8 slices italian bread (sliced 1/2-inch thick, can use about 4 x 4-inch ciabatta rolls in place of the italian bread)
• olive oil, for brushing on bread

Recipe

• 1 pound the chicken fillets until thin between two pieces of waxed paper, then marinate in oil, garlic, pepper and italian seasoning for about 1-1/2 hours.
• 2 heat a grill pan or sauté pan (the breasts can also be grilled on the bbq).
• 3 season the breasts with salt and pepper.
• 4 cook the chicken on medium heat for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through.
• 5 remove from pan and place on a plate or board.
• 6 top each fillet with some of the roasted peppers and a slice of cheese.
• 7 spread both sides of the bread with pesto sauce.
• 8 place chicken inside the bread and form to a sandwich.
• 9 brush both sides of the outside of bread with olive oil.
• 10 heat a grill pan or a 10-inch skillet on medium high heat. place the panini in the pan (only 2 at a time).
• 11 weigh the panini down with another heavy skillet and then top with a heavy can (a very large can of tomato juice works great for this!) cook for about 3 minutes, or until bread is toasted.
• 12 turn the panini, and weigh it down again with a heavy skillet and a can on top, and toast for another 3 minutes.
• 13 remove from pan and cut in half.