Gruyere, Apple, and Fig Jam Panini

Fall is Granny Smith season over at my parent’s house; their trees are so heavy with apples my father has to prop up the branches with long two by fours to keep them from breaking. We also are blessed with a bounty of figs from the fig tree, with which my mother often makes a particularly wonderful fig jam (an easy recipe that cooks up in about 15 minutes, I recommend it!). So when I saw this recipe for an apple and gruyere grilled cheese panini with fig jam in my friend Kathy Strahs’ fabulous new cookbook, The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook, I couldn’t wait to give it a go. It’s sort of a no-brainer actually. Granny Smith apples, gruyere cheese, figs? They belong together. I just never would have thought to put them together in a grilled cheese sandwich. Oh. My. Gosh. Crazy good!

I know that not everyone one has a panini press. In fact, the only reason I have one is that a friend regifted one to me knowing that I like to experiment in the kitchen. You could just as easily make this sandwich like a regular grilled cheese sandwich (for which I prefer using a cast iron pan). Or, if you happen to have a George Forman grill, that would work too!

Gruyere, Apple, and Fig Jam Panini Recipe

Dense bread, like bread from a rustic bakery loaf, holds together best in a panini press.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature to make it easy to spread
• 4 slices rustic whole-grain bread, sliced from a dense bakery loaf
• 2 Tbsp fig jam
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced
• 1/2 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

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