Gorgonzola Steak Paninis
This may be one of THE easiest blog recipes you’ll ever come across from me. Not that I pride myself on making “difficult” recipes, but you’ve also never heard me call myself “Rachael Ray’s 30 minute meals” – cause that just ain’t it.
I dreamed this up a few weeks ago while my husband was out of town on a work trip. I wanted something I could easily & quickly make, without a ton of leftovers, and maybe with an extra protein that I could repurpose for another meal without too much fuss.
Usually when Chris is gone, I call it the time of “Make All The Food He Hates” because I don’t have to worry about stinking up the kitchen (scallops) or making something that he simply isn’t gonna eat (salmon) but this particular day, I wasn’t craving any sort of seafood. I wanted a sandwich, but not any ol’ sandwich, you feel me? We have this AWESOME panini press that hadn’t been used in a couple of weeks so that’s truly when the lightbulb went off!
who is the star here?
To be fair….it seems that both the Gorgonzola Cream Sauce & the Steak are even competitors in this match. Both are in the headline, both are delicious & both could not function without each other in this recipe.
The ingredients for this Gorgonzola Steak Panini are relatively easy, delicious & might be staples in your home. I will INSIST that you purchase fresh Naan, not frozen. I really don’t see how the frozen Naan could work anyway, but just want to be clear. You can find fresh, packaged Naan in the bakery section at most grocery stores, but I found the Naan I used at Aldi. If you also choose to use fresh Gorgonzola rather than crumbles, this sauce will probably be even more rich & heavenly, so also keep that in mind!
Funny enough, this was also the very same week I made my Creamed Kale and topped it with strips of tender, leftover steak – it was heaven in a bowl, I tell ya. The fact that I used my Creamed Kale as a main rather than a side, changed something inside of me. It was magic. I loved every bite. HOWEVER – I first need to tell you about my original invention, duh.
Luckily, I didn’t have to go out & purchase anything crazy. Bread, Steak, Fixins….how difficult can that be? NOT AT ALL, dear readers. Literally just the act of assembly. Everything goes in a fine flow for this recipe, which makes it all the more exciting to eat at the end because its not a huge mess & not a lot of work to get to the delicious finish line.
cast iron classic.
Searing the steaks in my cast iron was also a game-changer. It was quick-quick & allowed the steaks to rest while I whipped up the Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and got my other ingredients ready. I seriously can’t stress enough how much this meal is a win-win for someone cooking solo or a truly quick weeknight meal – I hope somewhere, Rachael Ray is taking notes for this spectacular idea.
I haven’t cooked for myself (other than pizza) in quite some time. I forgot how difficult it really can be to make 1 meal that is tasty, decent, and not too time-consuming because seriously what is the damn point in that?
I won’t lie, cooking 1 chicken breast is depressing. It seemingly takes forever & you can only cook it 1 way, especially if you want to use any leftovers. I wasn’t a fan & clearly chicken breast wasn’t even on my radar. I turned to some Chuck Tender Sirloin Steaks – they were perfect, not too thin, came in a pack of 3 & were on sale! I knew I could come up with some fire eats for 1…..I just needed to do a little thinking to transform these little gems into something really crave-worthy.
panini or press
In closing, I will also state that a panini press is very much needed for this sandwich. I suppose a flat griddle pan & a weight sitting on top of it (maybe a bacon press?) could work just fine to get the cheese to melt & bring it all together, just don’t get all shitty at me if you are missing those OH SO COOL panini marks on your finished product! Seriously, a panini press is the way to go but I’m also not an asshole that is gonna tell you it can't be done, because it can. ((SIDENOTE I hate opening recipes that sound & look delicious and then its literally, EXCLUSIVELY for the Instant Pot. GTFO, that’s so annoying. So, I’m not trying to do ya’ll dirty like that)) Obviously, this recipe below lays out the ingredients to make 1 Gorgonzola Steak Panini but I also had hella leftovers, so this could probably, easily make 3 paninis since I had both leftover sauce & steak – plan accordingly! Let’s get to it!
Ingredients
· 1 Garlic Naan, fresh
· 2 TBS Olive Oil
· 2 TBS Montreal Steak Seasoning
· 1 piece Chuck Tender Sirloin steak
· 2 slices Havarti cheese
· ½ cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
· 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
· 1 TBS salted butter
· ¼ cup Gorgonzola crumbles
· 1 TBS AP flour
· ¾ cup Fat Free Half & Half
· 2 garlic cloves, crushed
· ¼ TSP Smoked Paprika
· S+P to taste
Instructions, 1
Preheat both your panini press & cast iron skillet.
Lightly brush olive oil overtop BOTH sides of your Naan bread.
Once your panini press is ready (our light turns green) place your greased Naan in the press & close, let it heat for about 2 minutes.
While your Naan is being heated, grease your cast iron with more olive oil or a TBS of butter – choice is yours!
Generously season each side of your steak with Montreal Steak Seasoning before laying it gently in the cast iron skillet. I personally wouldn’t do more than a 4-5 minute total cook on these steaks – the choice is yours & for the love of God, only flip once.
((I like my steaks REALLY rare so I literally did 1 minute each side of the steak – it was a screaming hot pan & I definitely didn’t want chewy steak in my panini so the choice is yours!))
Chuck Tender Sirloins are usually on the thinner side so they don’t need much time to cook – be careful of overcooking simply because they will turn tough & rubbery which is not ideal for this panini!
Also allowing your steak to rest for a few minutes will allow it to continue cooking & not be a runny mess once you cut into it to assemble your panini.
So once you have decided how long you’d like to cook your steaks, flipping them once, and they are finished – transfer to a clean cutting board to rest. No need to cover them.
SHIT IS YOUR PANINI DONE?? Take it off the press & allow it to rest on a clean plate – set aside but within arms length to assemble!
Instructions, 2
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt 1 TBS Salted Butter & whisk in the 1 TBS of flour.
Allow the butter to absorb the flour – for about 1 minute, whisking constantly.
Slowly pour in the ¾ cup of Half & Half, gently whisking all the while.
Turn down the heat to medium-low, stir in the Gorgonzola Crumbles and allow the sauce to form.
Crush in 2 cloves of garlic directly into the sauce – I use a Pampered Chef garlic press.
Keep stirring, the Gorgonzola Crumbles should start to melt & you will smell that garlic!
Season with S+P and Smoked Paprika – give it a little taste! This sauce is IMPERATIVE because it will be drizzled over the inside of your sandwich AND served on the side should you need a lil dippy-dip for your scrumptious sammich.
Once your sauce has nicely thickened, turn off the heat & allow it to hang out while you quickly assemble your panini!
Roughly chop the spinach & thinly slice the shallot – now comes the fun part!
Arrange 2 pieces of Havarti cheese on 1 side of the Naan – laying flat.
Arrange the ½ cup of chopped spinach & scatter around the shallot slivers.
Now its time to cut your steak! It has been resting on your cutting board, waiting for this moment.
Slice your steak thinly with a sharp knife, on the bias.
Lay your steak slices only on HALF of the panini – just for ease of when you fold it over to put back on the press *wink*
Drizzle DAT GORGONZOLA SAUCE overtop your steak slices – it should be looking amaaaazing & it’s not even done!
Instructions, 3
Gently fold your Naan in half, fatways – if that’s a thing.
Carefully transfer your folded Naan onto the panini press & close.
The cheese will melt & help hold everyone together, the steak will stay warm & help wilt the spinach & DAT SAUCE will fill in all the nooks & crannies of that Naan.
OH MAN.
Allow your Naan to turn into a panini on the press for another 2-3 minutes.
The reasoning for heating the Naan flat first on the panini press beforehand was to get it warm & pliable – *taps temple* cause we smart around here.
Once your Naan sandwich has been pressed to perfection, it is now a panini.
Allow it to rest for a few minutes as well before cutting – this will give you a chance to get out a plate, spoon more Gorgonzola Cream Sauce into a bowl & maybe scrub your cast iron real quick!
The extra Gorgonzola Cream Sauce will be quite the delectable dip should you have a piece of steak escape or if you just need that extra OOMPH for each bite!
Now this may be up for debate but its my blog & its my recipe – cut that panini diagonally…no ifs ands or buts….Enjoy!
press it real good.
I know the holidays are officially upon us….Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK. shit. Can you believe it??
I know everyone is pushing their favorite sides, family recipes & new-fangled ideas to make this Thanksgiving the best one ever…..but not me. I love Thanksgiving. I don’t like to skip it. I decorate for Christmas December 1 ((not that I care if you have already decorated for Christmas, do your damn thing!)) but I also hate the overkill of *new* Thanksgiving recipes. They are tiring. They are cumbersome. Why cant we just enjoy the basics? I like deviled eggs, dressing, green bean casserole, giblet gravy….the works! I don’t need new ideas, because, I feel like everyone else is doing JUST ENOUGH OF THAT.
I figured an easy, delicious, different protein is just what we need at this turn of the season because I’ll bet y’all will be SICK of turkey this time next week, mark my words. My Gorgonzola Steak Panini will hit the spot & give you a palate break that will probably be MUCH needed after our plates & bellies are full of rich, brown & tan foods *wink* Happy start to the Holidays y’all!
Thanks for stopping by!
I appreciate you stopping by! If you loved it, I’d love to hear from you.
If you hated it, then same.
Have a great day & look for my next entry!
© 2021 Cookin’ & Cussin’
