My Chef-Husband Just Taught Me How to Make the Best-Ever Italian Panini Sandwich

Chef Luke Venner's Best-Ever Prosciutto Panini

I love paninis. Sandwiches—especially sandwiches with cheese—are better when they're pressed in my humble opinion. Toasted, melted, flattened...this is my ideal way to eat a sammie, so when my husband (who also happens to be a chef) asked me what I wanted for lunch the other day, the answer was obvious: paninis.

Luke has been on a bit of a sandwich kick lately. He's training for Chefs Cycle, a three-day endurance ride where chefs team up to cycle across Sonoma and raise money for No Kid Hungry. Needless to say, he's usually starving after he gets off the bike.

Sandwiches are always a good idea because a) they're delicious and b) they come together quickly. Lately, we've been making BLTs, BECs and double-decker chicken clubs but the second I challenged him to make me the best-ever prosciutto panini, he was game.

Here's what happened when I followed him into the kitchen to make one.

Related: My Chef-Husband Made Me His Marry Me Potatoes and I Would Definitely Say 'I Do' All Over Again

Ingredients for My Chef-Husband's Prosciutto Panini

According to Luke, a proper prosciutto panini starts with the best ingredients. And it seems that hoards of TikTokers agree—their versions of the Viral Prosciutto Sandwich have amassed 23 million views.

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While this picnic-style sammie is more of a ciabatta-based cold sandwich instead of a hot pressed panini, the ingredients are somewhat similar. They both require the best bread, the best meats, the best cheese and the best arugula, or in Luke's case, basil, for his prosciutto panini.

In addition super fresh, bright green basil, he reaches for a package of prosciutto di parma, a few bocconcini (aka small fresh mozzarella balls), a loaf of freshly baked focaccia, mayo, olive oil spray and a couple of vine-ripened tomatoes. He also grabs some capers, kalamata olives, shallots and red pepper flakes to make a spicy tapenade.

How to Make the Best-Ever Prosciutto Panini

Although I usually observe Luke making sandwiches from the sidelines, this time he assigned me the sous chef task of making the kalamata olive tapenade. We had some chopped shallots left over from dinner the night before so he had me chop a bunch of capers and kalamata olives to add to the mix, then I gave everything a hefty douse of olive oil.

Once the tapenade is sorted, Luke set a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat and got to work on the focaccia, cutting a loaf in half, then halving the two pieces horizontally.

Next, he layered the panini ingredients. The kalamata olive spread went on one side of the bread, followed by neat rows of thinly sliced mozzarella. He slathered on a bit of mayo on the other slice of bread ("Almost everything is better with mayo," he tells me) and arranged the prosciutto on top.

After that, he added thinly sliced tomatoes on top of the mozz and seasoned them with sea salt, black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes for some heat. Next up? The basil, which he piled on top of the prosciutto. Don't even bother tearing these leaves. More is more here, plus the basil shrivels a little and the stems get soft once the panini is pressed.

Once all of the ingredients were in place, he closed the sandwiches and sprayed the hot griddle with olive oil spray. He added the sandwiches to the griddle and put the panini press lid on top. We have a cool Staub panini set, but you can DIY a panini press using a griddle pan with something heavy on top (a skillet piled with some cans for example).

Luke notes that it's important not to rush this step. The goal is to get the sandwich hot and create grill marks on the focaccia, so he lets the panini press do its thing for 2-3 minutes without touching it. Once the sandwich is nice and melty and the initial marks have formed, he takes it off the press and rotates the panini a quarter turn with a spatula to create those signature cheffy hash marks. The lid goes back on for another minute or two and then the panini is ready to flip.

He repeated the same steps on the other side before moving the panini off the heat and onto a cutting board. Then he grabbed our biggest knife and went in for the slice.

There's no more satisfying, mouthwatering sound than the crunch of a perfectly-grilled panini.

He nailed it.

My Honest Thoughts on My Chef-Husband's Best-Ever Prosciutto Panini

I'm not going to lie, I've had some pretty epic paninis in my life. In Italy, when I was studying abroad. At Panificio (RIP), a little Italian bistro in Boston where I worked as a barista in college. And at my panini party I threw in Giada De Laurentiis' honor when I bought her gourmet panini maker years ago. BUT my husband's might just be the best yet.

The kalamata olive tapenade was a total game-changer. It was salty, briny, bursting with pops of capers and the hint of red pepper flakes gave it the perfect amount of kick. Thanks to Luke's precise layering technique, each bite was perfectly balanced with juicy sweet tomatoes, creamy mozz cheese, salty chewy prosciutto and bright basil. The crunchy focaccia had a slightly charred, smoky taste that brought the whole sandwich together.

Related: The Best Way to Make a BLT According to My Chef-Husband

Top Tips for My Chef-Husband's Best-Ever Prosciutto Panini

1. Invest in a quality panini press. Luke isn't the biggest fan of electric panini presses (sorry, Giada). He prefers cast iron grill pans with a panini press lid like the one in our trusty Staub set. This is because "they're heavier and conduct heat better" in his opinion. Use what you have though, or grab your go-to skillet, a plate and a heavy kitchen gadget (or a few large cans) to set on top for a DIY press in a pinch.

2. Foccacia is the best bread for paninis. Flavor, texture and the ability to flatten to half its original size once pressed...this bread was basically invented for the job.

3. Homemade spreads amp up the umami factor. If you don't have the ingredients on hand to whip up a kalamata olive tapenade, grind together a quick pesto or go with a store-bought version. When the rest of your ingredients are ripe, fresh and simply the best, you can also get by with a drizzle of olive oil on the bread and still have a delicious sandwich.

4. Don't skimp on the basil. You want full leaves along one whole side of the panini for that herbaceous, straight-outta-Italy flavor. This is not the time to go light with a dainty chiffonade.

5. Add more meats. Prosciutto really is the star here but you can layer on the Italian meats, if you like. Salami, pepperoni, capicola (aka gabagool) or mortadella (a cured meat that's studded with pistachios and looks like bologna) would all be delicious here.

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