Red, White & Green Pressed Sandwich with Dry Cured Olives

For me, dry cured olives in this sandwich give a much needed punch of acidity. A sort of wake up call to the mellow mozzarella, tomatoes and bread. I found the olives at my local Co-Op, but am guessing you can find them at some olive bars.

If you can’t find dry cured olives, any favorite good quality olive should work. If you don’t like olives, you could try a drizzle of red wine vinegar instead.

Ingredients
1 baguette
2 balls fresh mozzarella, sliced
2 ripe Roma tomatoes, or any favorite variety, sliced
A couple handfuls of fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup seeded & chopped dry cured Greek Thasos olives (or any favorite olives)
Olive oil, or basil olive oil
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Heat up a Panini or sandwich press to medium high.

2. Slice the baguette into manageable sandwich size pieces, then cut the pieces down the middle.

3. Drizzle the insides of the bread with olive oil.

4. Top one half with olives, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Top with the other half of the bread.

5. Press the sandwich until the bread is toasted and the cheese starts to ooze. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.

Makes 3 to 4 sandwiches

Recipe by Laura Flowers