Chipotle chili is one of my favorite savory spices! It's smokey and has a slight hint of sweetness. Just a tiny bit of this ground chili packs a serious punch of flavor.
A few weeks ago I really wanted a grilled chicken sandwich. My co-worker Jennifer makes homemade grilled chicken paninis. She uses fresh sourdough bread and makes a chipotle mayonnaise spread using Duke's and canned chipotles. Jennifer also adds a slice of fontina cheese to her chicken for serious melty-goodness.
If you started drooling at the mere mention of sourdough bread... it's okay. I did too.
I really wanted to try Jennifer's chicken paninis... minus the sourdough (*sigh*)...
And so we did!
How do you make a low carb chicken panini? You use the chicken as your "bread..."
Sound crazy? It was delicious! We pounded the chicken breasts super flat and grilled them in the george foreman for about 5 minutes until they were chargrilled and juicy and then added lettuce, tomato, and sliced havarti in between two peices of chicken. It was fantastic. And NOW these spicy sandwiches are in our weekly dinner rotation.
Tell me what you think! You don't need bread to have a good sandwich. I promise!
Carrie's Chipotle Chicken Paninis
1-2 lbs. chicken breasts
1/2 cup Dukes mayonnaise
1-2 teaspoons ground chipotle chili
salt-free tomato basil seasoning
freshly ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, sliced
6-7 leaves romaine lettuce, washed and patted dry
3-4 slices havarti or fontina cheese
Non-stick cooking spray
Directions:
Preheat indoor countertop grill or start outdoor grill.
1.) Making chipotle mayonnaise: In a small bowl mix mayonnaise with ground chipotle chili. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
2.) Grilling Chicken: Using a clean pair of kitchen shears, cut chicken breasts into at least 3 peices each. Pound peices of chicken with a meat mallot until very thin. Sprinkle chicken peices with tomato-basil seasoning and freshly ground pepper. Grill on countertop grill for 4-6 minutes until chargrilled and juicy. Place cooked chicken on a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep hot while continuing to cook remaining chicken.
3.) Preparing chicken paninis: When ready to serve place 2 peices of chicken on a plate. Slather chipotle mayonnaise on both "slices" of chicken. Place several slices of havarti or fontina cheese on the chicken along with slices of tomato and peices of romaine lettuce. Place the 2nd "slice" of chicken on top of the "sandwich" and place back in the countertop grill for about 1-2 minutes until cheese is slightly melted. Serve IMMEDIATELY!
Enjoy!
