Recipe: Rotisserie Panini

Parents Magazine (www.parents.com) has a nice article in the April 2005 issue. Jackie Plant teamed up with Fraya Berg and presented eight recipes for rotisserie chicken. The variation is good and the offerings are straight-forward. I encourage you to look at all of them.

I like the convenience of rotisserie chicken. They are a quick-pick and very versatile. The chickens are available in a variety of flavors and many quick and easy recipes exist for them. Use the little fellows regularly fair reader, they can be a lifesaver.

My advice, if you can spare the time, is to roast you own. I know it contradicts the ease of a supermarket or Boston Market dash to buy a cooked poultry, but it gets you more. When you are menu planning, consider roasting a few chickens on Sunday (the time in the oven is the same for one bird or three!). Eat one as a Sunday feast and have the second in a recipe on Thursday or so. If roasting hens are on sale, it is cheaper and you’ll get bigger birds. Bigger birds yeild more meat. More meat equates to more of those quick and easy, left-over meals. It can be a budget stretcher and a time saver in the long run (besides, you won’t have to stop at the store mid-week or worry about weather a bird is ready at the store.)

Here is a sample from the article:

Chicken Caeser Panini

3 Tbs. Lemon Juice
1 Garlic Clove
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Mustard
¼ tsp. Black Pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin Olive Oil
¾ lb. Shredded, cooked chicken
3 cups shredded Romaine Lettuce
1 16oz loaf of unsliced country-style or focaccia bread

In Blender, combine the lemon juice, Garlic, 3 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pepper. Run until blended. With motor running, slowly pur the oil until well combined.

In a large bowl, combine Chicken and lettuce. Stir in 2 tbsp dressing, mixing to coat well. Split bread in half horizontally. Scoop out the inside of the loaf, leaving the crust shell. Brush bread shells with remaining dressing, then sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Place the chicken mixture on one shell of the bread; top with other shell to create a sandwich. Firmly press to seal.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Spray the top and bottom of sandwich with cooking spray. Place in the pan and put a second cast iron pan on top and push down (You can use a Panini press if you have one). Cook 2 minutes. Remove the top pan and, carefully, flip the sandwich. Cover again and cook for two more minutes.

Cut into 5 slices.

Serves 5
Cal 503, Protein 25g, Fat 24g, Carb. 48g, fiber 3g.