British Sandwich Week - Two Italian Toasties

Who doesn't love a good sandwich? The mighty sandwich is such a versatile meal, it can be easily adapted to suit individual taste, there really is nothing that you cannot do with a sandwich.

One of our favourite ways to have a sandwich is by toasting it. When you toast a sandwich the flavours transform into something special. So when I was asked if I would like to try the Breville DuraCeramic Sandwich Press I jumped at the chance. Toasted sandwiches are a firm favourite with everyone here so I had a feeling that it would go down well!

To celebrate British Sandwich Week I was challenged to create an international, flavours from around the world, sandwich. I decided to use Italian flavours. We all love Italian dishes and flavours and even more so after our holiday to Italy last year.

Like all families, we have different tastes. I love vegetables, while the Hubby is a big meat eater. So to satisfy all of our tastes I have created two delicious Italian deli style toasted sandwiches, one filled with vegetables and the other filled with meat.

This is what I did...

Two Italian Toasties

Smoked Meatball Melt

Ingredients

250g lean beef mince

100g smoked pancetta

1 shallot (approx 35g), finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

250g tomato, garlic and basil pasata

1 - Place the mince beef in a large mixing bowl

2 - Finely chop the smoked pancetta and add to the beef along with the chopped shallot and fresh basil

3 - Using your hands mix all of the ingredients together and create 16 meatballs

4 - Spray a large frying pan with some spray oil and heat over a medium to high heat

5 - Add the meatballs to the pan, brown off and fry for 10 minutes

6 - Once the balls are browned off add the pasata, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables Melt

Ingredients

1 aubergine, sliced

1 courgette, sliced length ways

1 red pepper

4 cloves of garlic

Basil infused olive oil

Method

1 - Heat the oven to 200°C

2 - Place the vegetables into a large roasting tin and drizzle over some basil infused olive oil

3 - Place the vegetables in the centre of the pre heated oven and roast for 45 minutes, turning the vegetables halfway through cooking

Creating the Deli Sandwiches

Extra Ingredients

1 beef tomato

1 bag of mixed salad leaves

Cherry tomatoes

Basil pesto

2 x 150g balls of Mozzarella cheese, sliced

Grana Padano cheese

Panini bread, sliced in half

Method

1 - Plug in the deli sandwich machine and wait for the plates to reach the correct temperature. The Breville sandwich press allows you to alter the temperature of the plates to accommodate different breads. For panini bread you will need to have a medium/high temperature.

2 - Place the bottom half of the panini on the base plate

3 - For the smoked meatball melt spread over some pasata from the frying pan and add 4 - 6 meatballs

4 - Top the meatballs with slices of mozzarella cheese and add some grated Grana Padano cheese

5 - For the roasted Mediterranean vegetables melt spread the bottom panini with a teaspoon of basil pesto

6 - Layer the roasted vegetables with slices of beef tomato

7 - Top the vegetables with mozzarella slices and grated Grana Padano cheese

8 - Place the panini tops onto the fillings and close the sandwich press. The sandwich press has three different height settings which can be altered depending on the amount of filling in your panini

9 - Toast the panini sandwiches for about 7 minutes or until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melting

10 - Serve immediately with a side salad

Since bringing us the toastie machine 40 years ago Breville have continued to bring us the latest and best sandwich machines and the sandwich press is no exception. The DuraCeramic plates allow you to cook even healthier. No fats are needed the ceramic plates cook to perfection. There are so many ways that it can be used, I have got so many ideas that I cannot wait to try out. Sandwiches are just the start!

What will you be enjoying this British Sandwich Week?

Enjoy x

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Disclosure: This is a collaborative post