Roasted Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Peppers with Gorgonzola Cream on Country Bread
Roasted vegetables, wonderful bread, and cheese. It sounds straightforward, and it is, in a way. How the parts intermarry, though, is what makes these panini so very good. If you haven't roasted the vegetables ahead of time, roast them all at once, on the same baking sheet. Be sure to keep on eye on them, though, and remove each one as it is done.
Ingredients
- 6 thick slices country bread cut from the center of the loaf
- 4 ounces gorgonzola cheese at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons of crème fraîche at room temperature
- 3 red bell peppers roasted, skinned, seeded, and cored
- 12 roasted eggplant slices
- 12 roasted plum tomato halves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut each slice of bread in half and toast for 5 minutes.
- Remove the gorgonzola's rind. In a small bowl, using 2 forks, cream the gorgonzola and the crème fraîche, mashing the cheeses together.
- Slice the roasted peppers lengthwise into thin strips.
- To assemble the panini, place 1 slice of roasted eggplant on each piece of bread. Take 2 or 3 strips of roasted pepper and form a nest in the center of the eggplant. In the nest, place a roasted tomato half, cut side up. Drop a dollop of the gorgonzola cream on top, part on the tomato, part on pepper, and finally on the eggplant.