Prosciutto Panini with Tomato Jam

Wow, wow, wow, I loved dinner tonight.  Since I decided I had to make the tomato jam it took a little while to get dinner on the table, but it was well worth the wait.  The flavours melt together so perfectly.  With each bit you could taste every ingredient from the spice arugula to the salty prosciutto, and you can’t forget the gooey cheese and perfect tomato jam.

The hubby loved the tomato jam.  We’ve already made a plan to make more when our tomato plates start producing.  What I liked about putting the tomato jam on the Panini instead of slices of tomato is that tomato wasn’t sliding out the bottom of my sandwich with each bit.  You still get the great taste of tomato but with much less mess. 

If you don’t want to put together the Panini at least make a plan to make a batch of the jam, you’ll love it!

Prosciutto Panini with Tomato Jam

Ingredients

·         4 panini buns

·         12 slices prosciutto

·         1 cup baby arugula

·         200g Edam cheese, sliced

·         ½ cup tomato jam, see recipe below

·         Olive oil

Directions

1.       Preheat Panini press to medium high heat

2.      Cut buns in half lengthwise.  Brush the top and bottom Panini buns with olive oil.  Spread tomato jam on inside of the top half of the bun.  Layer cheese, 3 slices prosciutto and arugula on bottom half of bun.

3.      Place Panini into press and cook for about 5 minutes until bread is golden and cheese is melted.

Tomato Jam

Ingredients

·         2 lbs tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded and diced

·         6 tbsp fresh lemon juice

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         1 jalapeno diced

·         1 clove garlic, minced

·         1 tbsp ginger, minced

·         1 tbsp fish sauce

·         1 tsp red chilli pepper flakes

·         2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Directions

1.       Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes until thick and jammy.

2.      Remove from heat and let cool.  Pour into container and refrigerate until ready to use.  Can be kept for about 2 weeks in refrigerator.

TIP:  The best way to peel a tomato is to slice an X into the bottom of the tomato and place into a pot of boil water for about 2 minutes.  Remove from the water and let cool, enough so you can handle them.  The peel should slide right off.

 ENJOY!