Speck-Taleggio Panini

I’m sorry to gloat, but I’m like a proud Mama Bear who just had her cub: I just harvested a second handful of mizuna greens from my terrace garden! I’ll be heart-broken when the plant is no more, but I’m going to milk it as much as I can. I’m also getting ready to plant a second round of salad greens for autumn which is fast approaching; hopefully, they’ll survive as the weather gets colder.

This sandwich needed bitter greens because of the speck’s fatty composure and it needed to stand up against the spiciness of the mustard. Almost any salad green will do like arugula or mache, of course, but mizuna complemented the stinkiness of the taleggio cheese. If you can’t find speck, good-quality prosciutto will also work.

Ingredients:
a couple slices of taleggio, rind removed
8 pieces of speck
6 mizuna leaves
whole-grain mustard
1 whole wheat panini bread, halved
a small knob of butter

1. Assemble your sandwich. On one half of the panini, layer the taleggio evenly. Top with the speck and then the greens. On the other half of the panini, spread a dollop of mustard and then place on top of the first half.
2. Melt half of the butter in a large skillet and heat the panini. Press with an iron grill press. After about two minutes, turn the sandwich gently with a spatula. Add the rest of the butter and distribute it around the sandwich while it melts. Press again for another minute and remove to a chopping block. Let it rest before slicing in two and serving.

Related post/s:
Taleggio is great for sandwiches