Grilled Sausage and Onion Panini

Let me start by saying that I just made this recipe today and I loved it so much that I had to blog about it right away! It's from my Fine Cooking magazine collection, with a few changes. I used spinach instead of arugula and I broiled the sausage instead of grilling it. The reason for broiling the sausage was simply a time saving decision. I don't have a grill (I hate saying that) so I used my grill pan which has limited space. I had to grill the bread in two batches and then grill the onions. In order to save time I had the sausage broiling in the oven in the meantime. This recipe serves 4.



Ingredients:

1 large red onion, sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch disks
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp good balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced
8 slices (about 1/2 thick each) crusty Italian bread
1-2 cloves garlic, cut in half
4 links sweet or hot Italian sausage (about 1 lb total)
1 packed cup baby spinach, washed
2-3 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat your oven  to the broil setting and pre-heat your grill (or grill pan!) to medium heat. While waiting for the oven and grill to heat up I sliced the bread, onions and tomatoes. Set aside each on their own plate.

The oven should be pre-heated at this point. Place the sausage on a baking sheet lined with foil, pierce the sausage with a fork so that they don't explode and put them in the oven for 10 minutes per "side" (20 minutes total). I set a timer to remind myself to roll the sausage over in 10 minutes.

Place the bread slices on the grill, turning once the bread has browned (about 2-3 minutes per side). Once the  bread is ready, pull it off the grill and immediately rub the cut side of the garlic halves onto each side of bread. It's important to do this step while the bread it hot, because the heat will help the garlic "melt" into the bread. It only takes a light rub to get a nice garlic flavor on the bread.

Now it's time to season the onions with 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and season well with salt and pepper. Toss them gently to keep the disks intact. Place the onions on the hottest part of the grill and cook them until softened to a limp texture (about 5-8 minutes depending on grill temperature).

Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the spinach with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar; season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the sandwiches arrange a small handful of spinach on a slice of bread and lay a tomato slice on top of the spinach. Cut the sausages in half lengthwise and lay them flat over the tomatoes. Lay a generous portion of the grilled onion rings and a sprinkling of parmigiano over the sausages and top with another slice of bread.

Here is a view of the grilled garlic bread...

This sandwich is amazing! It's perfect for anyone who is in the mood to grill. The grilled onions were my favorite part. I love the sweetness of cooked onions and the spinach tossed in oil and balsamic vinegar added a nice freshness and spice. The sausage of course is what filled my stomach. It was so satisfying to cook and eat this sandwich. The boyfriend also loved it. I'll definitely be making this again.