Green Chile Steak Melt Panini
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
Ingredients:
For the Caramelized Onions:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 medium yellow onions
Salt and black pepper
For the Chipotle Mayonnaise:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 chipotle chile
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Panini:
1 pound New York strip steak
Kosher salt and pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Chipotle Mayonnaise:
1 ciabatta loaf or baguette, cut into 4 sections
8 slices Monterey Jack cheese
Caramelized Onions
1 7-oz can whole roasted green chiles, chopped
Instructions:
Makes 4 panini.
To make the Caramelized Onions:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring often to prevent scorching, until the onions are soft, deep brown in color and caramelized, another 40 to 50 minutes.
To make the Chipotle Mayonnaise:
Combine all of the ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill until you are ready to serve.
To make the Panini:
Season the steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet or grill pan over moderately high heat. Once it’s hot, add olive oil to the pan, then the steak. Grill the steak, turning every few minutes, until it’s cooked to your preferred doneness. For medium, I cook it until my instant read thermometer reads 137°F.
Let the steak rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes, then slice it crosswise into thin slices. Preheat the panini grill to medium high heat. Halve each piece of bread lengthwise to create top and bottom halves.
For each sandwich: Spread about a tablespoon of mayonnaise inside each half of bread. On the bottom half, add a slice of cheese, steak, onions, chiles and a second slice of cheese. Close the sandwich with the other half of bread, mayonnaise side down. Grill the panini until the cheese is melted, about 4 to 5 minutes. Cut in half and serve immediately.
Adapted from paninihappy.com