Strawberry, Basil and Goat Cheese Panini

• servings: 1 serving
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 slices of levain bread, thinly sliced

1 ½ ounces goat cheese

3 to 4 strawberries

a few basil leaves, whole or roughly chopped

black pepper, freshly ground

1 tablespoon butter, or less

⅔ cup balsamic vinegar

⅓ cup honey

Directions

Spread a layer of goat cheese over both slices of bread. Slice your strawberries relatively thinly by cutting off slices from the outside of the strawberries, leaving the center behind. Spread strawberries over one slice of bread, and basil on the other. Sprinkle both sides with black pepper, and lay the basil slice face down on top of the strawberry slice.

Heat a small to medium skillet (cast iron is best) over medium heat. Melt one to two teaspoons of butter in the skillet, then add the sandwich. Cover it with a plate or appropriately sized dish and weigh it down with something heavy, like canned beans or a cast iron skillet. Cook until the bottom of the bread is lightly browned, about two to three minutes, then lift the sandwich from the pan, add another pat of butter, let it melt, and return the sandwich to repeat on the other side. Slice each sandwich in half and serve warm.

To make the balsamic honey sauce, combine the balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the liquid is reduced by about half (15 minutes or more). Pour the liquid into a small bowl to cool.

Nutrition

• Calories: 880
• Total Fat: 22.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 13.8 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 50.1 mg
• Sodium: 532 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 151.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5 g
• Total Sugars: 122.2 g
• Protein: 17.5 g