The Mentalist

No, sadly, this post is not about Simon Baker. But earlier this week I took a mental health day and was joined by my fabulous friends, Jen and Lisa, for an afternoon of knitting (actually...I read magazines and watched them knit). I think that I may have tricked them into coming over by tempting them with the potential of a home cooked meal, except that I just made sandwiches. (Sorry, guys!)

Like the pappardelle that I made last week, this recipe was also adapted from the Recipes for Health section in The New York Times. Since I don't have a panini grill, this is essentially a grilled cheese...with some other stuff too. The annoying thing is that you have to cook the greens and mushroom slices separately and ahead of time, but then it only takes a few minutes to actually construct and cook the sandwiches. And they're GOOD.

Heads up to everyone at work: It's going to take way more than one day for my mental health to improve. But you probably already knew that.



Mushroom, Greens and Gruyère Panini

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for cooking sandwiches
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 pound stemmed and washed greens (like kale or chard), coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large portobello mushroom, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 cup Gruyère, grated
1 ounce goat cheese
4 slices whole grain bread

1. Heat one tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the greens and toss in the hot pan, just until lightly coated with oil. Cook until the greens are tender, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate and set aside.

2. Preheat a griddle or grill pan. Brush both sides of the mushroom slices with the remaining one tablespoon oil, and cook for 1 - 2 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Sprinkle half of the Gruyère over two of the bread slices and top with the mushroom slices. Next, pile half of the greens on top and press down. Sprinkle the greens with the remaining Gruyère. Spread the goat cheese on the remaining two slices of bread and place, cheese side down, over the greens and Gruyère.

4. Brush the outside of the sandwich with a little olive oil. Place on a griddle (or grill pan or panini maker or nonstick saute pan) and cook for about 3 minutes per side, until the cheese has melted and the bread is toasty. Makes two sandwiches.