Panini

Panini (Italian plural, from pane "bread") are Italian pressed sandwiches made with a small loaf such as a ciabatta, a baguette-style filone, a round michetta or a sesame-covered rosetta, sliced and filled, then warmed and pressed between the heated plates of a panini press or a ridged cast-iron grill. The bread develops a crisp, well-marked crust while the inside stays chewy, and the fillings — cold cuts, cheeses, marinated vegetables, pesto and oils — soften just enough to bind to the bread without going soggy.

The sandwich as a quick street food spread through Italy from the late twentieth century, with the classic combinations (prosciutto and mozzarella, caprese, porchetta, mortadella with pistachio) shared between Milan, Rome and Bologna, and the ciabatta-based version becoming the default. Outside Italy, panini are the cornerstone of café lunch menus in Paris, London and Berlin, and have been adopted in the United States, Australia and Japan, where the term is often used for any toasted Italian-style sandwich. They pair naturally with a bitter green salad, a bowl of minestrone or a glass of light red such as Lambrusco or a chilled Vermentino.