Donal's Italian Kitchen airs Wednesdays at 8.30pm on RTÉ One
Ingredients
Serves: 4
Time: 35 minutes
For the chilli and garlic marinara:
- 1 x 400g can good quality chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed slightly, skin left on
- Small handful fresh basil leaves
For the sandwiches:
- 100g mayonnaise
- 6 tbsp basil pesto
- 4 small ciabatta or panini rolls, sliced in half
- 50g scamorza cheese, cut into slices
- 12 slices prosciutto
- 1 ball mozzarella, cut into slices
- 50g Parmesan, finely grated
- 50g butter
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- To make the marinara, put the tomatoes in a pan with the olive oil, salt, garlic clove, basil leaves and a pinch of black pepper. Stir and simmer over a low heat for about 20 - 25 minutes, until the sauce has thickened considerably.
- Meanwhile, mix the pesto with the mayonnaise.
- Lay the bread out on a chopping board and add some basil mayo to both sides, spreading out to the edges. Top the base with 3 slices of scamorza, then layer with 3 slices each of prosciutto, mozzarella, and finally a sprinkling of parmesan. Season with sea salt & black pepper and place the lid on top to sandwich the ingredients. Repeat until you have made all the sandwiches.
- Melt half of the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add 2 sandwiches and press down with a weighted press or the back of a heavy pan. Fry for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 5 minutes on the other side. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
- Cut the sandwiches in half and arrange on serving plates. Once reduced and thickened, pour the marinara into a small bowl to serve on the side for dipping.
