Have you had panettone? It’s a traditional sweet Italian Christmas bread, made golden with butter, sugar and eggs, and stuffed with raisins and candied orange peel.
It’s all that and more.
It’s baked in a cylinder, so it rises tall and makes a stately presentation at the table. Usually we just cut big hunks of it and wolf them down for breakfast. The next morning, we fight over who ate the last of the panettone and didn’t tell anyone. Good times here in the ShockD household.
But when Bauli, the makers of the very fine Il Panettone di Milano [1], sent over a fragrant loaf with the challenge to join the Bauli Bake Off, I couldn’t resist.
In the past, I’ve French-toasted panettone (wonderful!), and I’ve made bread pudding [2] out of it. However, it was lunchtime. So out came the George Foreman grill and this time I panini-ed it!
Panettone makes a wonderful panini. Because the bread is so fragrant and flavorful, you only need a couple of other ingredients to make a wowser of a sandwich. I didn’t even use any condiments on my sandwich, because I didn’t want to mask the panettone flavor at all.
It’s a new beloved panini, and I’ve already had marching orders to make it again. I’m thinking Christmas Day lunch…
A classic ham and cheese panini gets wild new flavor from panettone, the traditional Italian Christmas bread.
Ingredients
- 1 slice Bauli Panettone, cut vertically from the center of the loaf
- Sliced ham
- Sliced cheese (I used Kerrygold Dubliner)
Directions
- Cut bread slice in half lengthwise, so you have two sides for the sandwich. Layer ham and cheese slices inside, put the bread “lid” on, and place on a hot grill or in a panini press until outside is crispy and cheese is beginning to melt.
- Remove from grill, slice in half and enjoy!
- Makes 1 panini.
Notes
Condiment: If you must have a condiment on your sandwich, I would suggest Dijon mustard, which goes well with the ham and cheese, and is a nice counterpoint to the sweet bread.
Butter or not: Many people butter the outside of the bread when they make a grilled panini. The panettone is so rich itself that I don’t think it needs butter on the outside. It crisps up nicely without it.
What would YOU make with panettone?
Bauli has opened the Bauli Bake Off to anyone who would like to show how they’re celebrating the holidays with Bauli. Grand prize is an all expenses-paid weekend trip for 2 to Chicago, Miami or L.A., which will include a dining experience at Bauli chef ambassador Fabio Viviani’s restaurant, followed by a meet & greet with Fabio himself after dinner. And each week a contest participant will win a signed copy of Viviani’s new cookbook, along with pandoro and panettone. Go to the Bauli Facebook page [5] to enter — one #BauliBakeOff submission allowed per day
Disclosure: Bauli sent a loaf of panettone for recipe testing.