Pleasures of a perfect Panini

The panini originated as a humble sandwich in Italy and swiftly gained popularity across Europe and the USA. Each country put its spin on it, transforming it into a global culinary phenomenon, write Nandini Vaidyanathan & Dominique Fieux

Who would have thought that two slices of toasted bread with a slice of roast- beef tucked in, would revolutionise global gastronomy? Certainly not John Montagu, an aristocrat who loved munching on this when he played cardgames.

Over time, since he was the fourth Earl of Sandwich, this concoction came to be known as a sandwich.

For the longest time, the sandwich remained within the confines of the royal household. It then found itself in the homes of the privileged class but did not cross the threshold of the proletariat.

In Italy, however, around the 1950s-60s, small family-owned restaurants started to serve hot, grilled, long bread, stuffed with cheese and ham, to workers who came in for a quick bite. It was easy to make, keep and serve. No plates were required, as typically the bread was wrapped in a tissue and it could be eaten on the road. No frills, no fuss. They called it PANINO or ‘small bread roll’. The plural of panino is panini in Italian.

We must share a very interesting story here. We were travelling through Lombardy, which is in the northern part of Italy and is supposed to be home to the panini. We had been told that the family, which first made the panini, lived there, but there was no postal address for them. We were given landmarks and directions, but since we didn’t speak Italian, locating the house was a daunting task.

Finally, we spotted a good-looking guy with a very pleasant demeanour, carrying a big watermelon. I explained to him what we were looking for with the help of a piece of paper. He nodded his head, smiled even more and then handed over the watermelon to me. And we thought, finally our search was over as he seemed to know the address. He continued to smile, threw his hands up in the air, and pronounced with a lot of vigour, “Ecco qua, I don’t know” (Italians, like Indians, speak as much with their hands as with their mouths)!

Panini began life as a poor man’s sandwich in Italy. It was made with a special bread called Ciabatta or Rosetta. The long bread was first baked, then stuffed with cheese and ham and then grilled. The workers who dropped in could just pick it off the shelf and bite into it on their way back to work, without losing any time. It was Italy’s first fast food and the small family-owned eateries were the first QSRs.

Panini quickly spread to other parts of Europe and even the USA. But each country modified it and adapted it to suit local needs. The French, for instance, used baguette instead of footlong bread. They half-baked the bread, stuffed it after it cooled, and then grilled it before serving.

Before long, it moved out of QSRs and became a go-to dish in celebrity
restaurants as a stand-alone meal. Chefs in gourmet French restaurants vied with each other to make it visually appealing, served it with the typical French élan, with some gravy, salad, different kinds of cheese on the side, and a stuffing of vegetables (veg) or ham/chicken/bacon (non-veg), garnished it with herbs like oregano and condiments like cornichon (jalapeño), olives and baby-onion-in-vinegar.

Very soon, it made its way to the tables of premium restaurants in Paris and dethroned the hitherto popular sandwich. The reason was that a typical Parisian sandwich — Le Parisien — was laced with ham and butter (jambon and beurre). Panini on the other hand was beautifully modified with variations such as foie gras panini or truffle panini, and served in style. Unlike the sandwich, which was dry to bite into, the panini was loaded with different kinds of sauces
— ratatouille, tomato, pesto, aioli, basil sauce, tapenade — and every bite was moist and juicy. It was a paradise of flavours! Panini had democratised the typical French service, the famed A La Francaise! 

Panini A L’ Indienne (Indian Panini)
For the bread
 175 gms wheat flour
 75 gms all-purpose flour
 1 spoon of your favourite Indian masala (like Pav Bhaji masala)
 10 gms desiccated yeast powder
 190 ml water
 1 spoon olive oil
 7 gms salt
Mix all together and knead for 10 minutes. Wait for a while till the pastry expands. Knead it again and roll it out to make long bread. Let it stay for an hour before you bake it in the oven at 180-degrees temperature for 20 minutes. The bread should be half-baked without the brown colour.
For the stuffing
 Finely chopped sweet potato /potato
 Onion, garlic, ginger, green chilly, bell peppers
 Shredded corn and peas
 Curry leaves
 Turmeric and jeera
 Salt to taste
Toss everything in oil and cook like a
dry sabzi. You can add whatever vegetables you like to make the dry sabzi.
For the sauce
Use any sauce like Tabasco, chipotle, honey mustard or make a fresh tomato sauce.
Method
 Slice the bread in the middle longitudinally.
 Generously smear the inside with two or more different sauces.
 Stuff the bread generously with the sabzi filling.
 Add grated cheese (parmesan) and close it down tight.
 Now grill the bread with a spoonful of ghee.
 When it is nicely browned and marked, remove it onto a ceramic plate.
 Open the top half of the bread to add some lettuce and close it again.
 Decorate the baguette with olives, jalapeño, cherry tomatoes, oregano and small seeds like chia, and crushed walnuts.
 And to give it the typical French touch, serve it with some potato wedges/ fries on the side.

(Nandini Vaidyanathan is a seasoned corporate professional who loves cooking, while Dominique Fieux is a French Michelin Star Chef who is enamoured by Indian food.)