Halloumi, Bacon and Tomato Panini

One of my earliest and fondest memories of visiting Greece as a child is eating a “tost”, Tost is how Greeks call a pressed sandwich, the kind made in a panini sandwich press.

I recently was approached by Hamilton Beach to play around with their appliance and accepted without thought. I’ve used the panini press everyday!

Back to tost. The simplest (and most common) is a ham and cheese tost but the possibilities are endless. Today I am going to show you a sandwich I had years ago in Astoria, New York. It was a Pork Belly and Halloumi sandwich and today’s recipe was inspired by that experience.

This tost is more approachable (and quicker, easier) to make. We have bacon, ham, Halloumi cheese, mayo, onion jam, tomatoes. Let’s do this!

Halloumi, Bacon and Tomato Panini

2 slices of thick slice bread

2 Tbsp. mayo

2 Tbsp. onion jam (or caramelized onions)

3 rashers of bacon, cooked

2 slices of ham

one or two slices of Halloumi cheese

sliced tomato

cooking spray or room temp. butter

1. Turn on your panini press. Into a small bowl, mix the mayo and onion jam. Spread mixture on one side of both slices of bread.
2. Place the bacon, ham, halloumi, tomato on the side of the bread with the spread. Season the tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper. Place the other slice of bread on top (mixture facing down).
3. Once the green light on your panini press is green and ready, spray both the upper and lower grill surfaces with cooking spray.
4. Place your sandwich in the press and close lid. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until crisp and nicely browned.
5. Remove sandwich with a spatula, place on a cutting board and cut in half, serve.