Pesto Fontina Panini, Herb Style

In this fresh herb pesto fontina panini, I make a short pesto out of mint, basil, parsley and chives.The pesto is then panini’d with gooey fontina cheese in slices of buttered sourdough.

If you know me even a little bit you know I’m a total pesto lover. There’s something about the bright green color and fresh flavor that reminds me of Spring! And making pesto is so gosh darn STRAIGHTFORWARD too.

It’s so unfussy you’ll be known as the crazy pesto lady with a food blog that has eight grilled cheese recipes and 4 of them contain pesto! Wait. That’s me.

How about I skip to the pesto making… and the Fontina melting? K? Okay good.

To cook this Herb Pesto Fontina Panini Set out:

• garlic
• basil
• mint
• chives
• parsley
• olive oil
• pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
• sourdough bread
• slices of fontina cheese (or freshly grated)
• softened salted butter

Pesto is a great way to use and preserve herbs that you may have lingering in your fridge. When making pesto it’s dependable you use soft leafy herbs like basil, chervil, chives or parsley, even arugula or spinach are a great non-herb option too. Only steer clear of the herbs with woody stems i.e. thyme or rosemary.

In a food processor add 1 clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped a handful of fresh basil, a handful of fresh mint roughly chopped, a handful of fresh chives and a large handful of fresh parsley.

Then measure out a 1/2 cup of olive oil.

Next, secure the lid and turn the food processor on.

Then, pulse to give everything a speedy chop.

Next, turn it back on while gently streaming in the olive oil.

Add then add in the pecorino, put the lid back on and give it a short pulse.

Then butter some bread. I truly love sourdough. It gets all golden and crispy. It’s my bread of choice for sure.

Next, lay down some Fontina.

Then spoon on a few tablespoons of the fresh herb pesto on to the cheese.

Next, place a second slice of buttered bread on top, butter side up.

And then press the top down.

Now, I’m no panini expert. BUT, I pretty sure there is a section of my panini that’s missing some tan lines. I blame my inexpensive panini press. I’m looking into an upgrade… so any suggestions of a good panini press are welcomed.

The bread is one with the cheese which is one with the pesto. It’s fabulous.

The crispy factor is out of this world. Word. And this sandwich reminds me of a ruffle chip.

And there you have it, a especially crispy and cheesy Pesto Fontina Panini. Lunch is served.

Hi, my name is The cook and I’m a pesto junkie. Thank you.

Enjoy! And if you give this Pesto Fontina Panini recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!