# What are some good things to put in a panini? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805 "2011-10-26T01:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/1 "2011-10-26T01:20:30Z")
Your opinions? ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/2 "2011-10-26T01:46:45Z")
Aside from the usual stuff, I like to put in a few of those really salty dried olives, sliced so they lie flat. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/3 "2011-10-26T15:52:19Z")
I don’t know what “the usual stuff” is. I’ve only had a few in one restaurant, and tried a couple at home based vaguely on the ingredients from the feta cheese and the spicy avacado ones. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/4 "2011-10-26T16:47:53Z")
My old cafeteria used to serve roast beef, caramelized onions, mozzarella with a bit of horseradish sauce. Man, that was a good, crunchy sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/5 "2011-10-26T16:54:19Z")
Lately for me it’s been grilled chicken breast, pesto and provalone. Sometimes I’ll add a little capicola instead of the pesto. ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/6 "2011-10-26T21:19:36Z")
Tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella, pine nuts…nom nom nom… ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/7 "2011-10-26T21:33:52Z")
Brie. Good Lord, brie. Heck, I haven’t had brie for ages. I need to go somewhere where getting good vegan food is really inconvenient so that I can have an excuse for having some brie. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/8 "2011-10-26T23:08:32Z")
I like roasted red peppers on my sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/9 "2011-10-27T01:28:59Z")
Ham, Brie, caramelized onions, and honey Dijon. Fig jam, goat cheese, and basil. Prosciutto, roasted pear, and fontina cheese. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/10 "2011-10-27T02:47:07Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Ham, Brie, caramelized onions, and honey Dijon. > > Fig jam, goat cheese, and basil. > > Prosciutto, roasted pear, and fontina cheese. Damn I love the way you think! ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/11 "2011-10-27T02:48:26Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > My old cafeteria used to serve roast beef, caramelized onions, mozzarella with a bit of horseradish sauce. Man, that was a good, crunchy sandwich. That was fast. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/12 "2011-10-27T03:04:07Z")
Obligatory language gripe: in Italian, “panini” means “little loaves of bread”. Plural. Panino would be correct albeit they don’t really eat them in Italy anyway. Yeah I know it’s a loan word and exists in English in its own right yadda yadda, but it still annoys me. Similarly people saying “brush-etta” for “bruschetta” (broos-KET-ta) and “expresso” for “espresso”. Anyway my favourite panini is the first I ever saw, which was in Cyprus in 1991 and comprised fried halloumi, tomato and piccalilli, ham optional. Glorious. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/13 "2011-10-27T05:45:52Z")
Man, I can’t get over the pizza place of my youth… they had an Italian sub that was finished in the Pizza Oven- Cappiacola, Salami, Proschutt, Pizza sauce, Mozz, and anything else you wanted. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/14 "2011-10-27T12:06:55Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I like roasted red peppers on my sandwiches. That’s the one ingredient I always add to mine. I think they add a lot of “juiciness” and moisture to the sandwich. A few years ago at a restaurant I had a panini with chicken, cheese, and a roasted red pepper - I liked it so much that this is what I usually put on my homemade ones. ---
**Author:** ![jayarrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jayarrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayarrell)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/15 "2011-10-28T01:51:48Z")
The two panini I was most fond of when I visited Italy was one made solely with porchetta and another that had breseola, arugula, and mozarella. Breseaola is a bit hard to find here so I substitute prosciutto. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/16 "2011-10-28T01:55:29Z")
So there aren’t a lot of vegetarian paninis? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/17 "2011-10-28T02:08:39Z")
Minced garlic might be good, depending on the other contents. With feta and pesto. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/18 "2011-10-28T02:12:53Z")
This summer I was really in to roasted summer squash (coated in Italian dressing) and goat cheese paninnis. I also made one of roasted eggplant, red onion, red pepper with mozzarella. Mmmm… My college had one with some sort of beef and blue cheese. My senior year only. Dammit! ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-things-to-put-in-a-panini/600805/19 "2011-10-28T12:47:05Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Obligatory language gripe: in Italian, “panini” means “little loaves of bread”. Plural. > > Panino would be correct albeit they don’t really eat them in Italy anyway. > > Yeah I know it’s a loan word and exists in English in its own right yadda yadda, but it still annoys me. Similarly people saying “brush-etta” for “bruschetta” (broos-KET-ta) and “expresso” for “espresso”. Thank you for saving me the trouble of bitching about this. 🙂