Panini
By: Helen Pitlick
Published: Friday, December 10, 2010 - 1:02am

Ingredients




1 recipe Figs Pizza Dough
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup trimmed, thinly-sliced fennel bulb
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
coarse salt
freshly-ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
30 fresh basil leaves
8 slices fresh mozzarella, 1/2" thick
2 teaspoons capers

Preparation

1 Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of an oven. Heat oven to 500 degrees. 2 On a heavily floured surface, roll out half the dough into a 10-inch circle as thin as possible. Rub with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Using a pizza peel, transfer the dough to the pizza stone, and bake until the dough puffs and is slightly golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat the process with remaining dough. 3 Using a towel, remove the crust from the oven, and place on a cutting board. Top half the crust with fennel, zest, 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt and pepper, lemon juice, 10 basil leaves, and mozzarella. Sprinkle the capers, remaining 5 basil leaves, and 2 teaspoons olive oil over the mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper and a final squeeze on the lemon half. Fold the crust in half. Using the back of a heavy saute pan, press the panini together. Repeat process with remaining panini. 4 Return the panini to the oven, and bake until the filling is just warmed through. Transfer the panini from the oven to a cutting board, cut the panini in half on the bias, and cut into smaller pieces pieces. Serve immediately.

About


Add meat or other fillings to your taste.