I’m thinking of opening a gallery of sorts. It will be titled: Humankind’s Greatest Combinations. Here’s a brief list of subjects either photographs of paintings will capture:
- Grilled cheese and tomato soup
- Long runs and Slurpees
- Dogs and humans
- Snacks and finish lines
- Those cinnamon sugar doughnuts from apple orchards and cider
- Naps and Saturday afternoons
- Dirt roads and runners
- Tomato, basil, and mozzarella
Today, we will be focusing on the last contribution to the Humankind’s Greatest Combinations gallery. The combination of tomato, basil, and mozzarella, also known as caprese, has been rocking worlds for awhile now. The combination is the ever-growing vegetarian-friendly option at both local and chain eateries alike. It can be in pizza form, sandwich form, or just plain “everything on a plate” form. It’s a big crowd-pleaser, even known to cause tomato-haters to rethink their alliances.
Anyway, I couldn’t agree more with anyone who says the caprese sandwich needs no altering whatsoever. I wouldn’t like to test this theory, but I’m pretty sure I could eat this combo every day for the rest of my life and not get sick of it.
But just because we don’t need to improve something does not mean we don’t want to give it a shot anyway. Who knows what might happen?!
A beautiful creation, that’s what. This uber caprese sandwich has just enough add-ons to keep things interesting without sacrificing the integrity of caprese.
So with this goal in mind, we add caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and marinated artichokes and enter the next realm of deliciousness.
These sandwiches are great to construct ahead of time and just throw them in the toaster or on the panini press when you want them. They can be frozen and brought back to life, they can feed a crowd by just buying more baguettes and all the other ingredients! Great for gatherings of hungry runners who appreciate the finer combinations in life.
Uber caprese sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 multi-grain baguette, sliced length-wise
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 10 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 3 oz marinated artichoke hearts, sliced
Instructions
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Heat 1 and 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Cook on medium heat stirring frequently until the liquid evaporates and the onions are golden. Continue cooking until the onions are about half the size as they were when they began cooking. Add splashes in the pan if they begin to burn. When caramelized, set aside.
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Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms, remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir frequently until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms have a golden sear. Set aside.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees or heat up panini press to a medium-high heat.
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Spread 1/2 the pesto on each half of the baguette. On the top half, over lay the tomato slices and 3/4 of the cheese.
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On the bottom half, cover with remaining cheese followed by onions, mushrooms, and artichokes. Put the two halves together.
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Toast in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or heat a panini press to medium-high heat and cook until cheese melts. Cut sandwich into four pieces, each person receiving 1/2 the baguette. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
Save toasting for next time if you are planning on making these sandwiches in advance. Construct the sandwiches and store them either in the freezer or fridge by wrapping in aluminum foil (and securing them in a gallon-sized freezer-safe bag for freezer storage).
