What can I say about this sandwich? It's delicious. I would pay to eat this sandwich. Every time Conor and I make these sandwiches we go "oh yessssss" after the first bite. Every little aspect of this sandwich gives another burst of flavour. The original recipe, which we got from Chef's Plate food delivery service, was without Chicken. However, as soon as I read the ingredients I knew I wanted to add chicken. We didn't even bother making it without it ... what I'm saying though is this COULD be vegetarian and I'm sure it would be delicious... but add the chicken. TRUST.
I fresh bake (or BBQ) my chicken for the sandwich, but left over chicken or rotisserie chicken could always be used here.
Makes 4-8 sandwiches (depending on size of bread used)
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
S & P
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/4 tsp smoked or regular paprika
4 long panini buns (or 8 square Ciabatta buns... or something along those lines that will flatten well... panini style)
6-8 oz Brie Cheese (one of those triangle sized from the store works well), thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith Apple, thinly sliced around core
1 Small Red Onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp smoked or regular paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup warm water
S&P
Honey mustard (a squirt for each bun!)
Pam cooking spray or slice of butter
Preheat the oven to 350 F . While the oven is pre-heating in a large bowl mix chicken with S&P, olive oil, garlic powder, dry thyme and paprika. Set aside until oven is preheated. Once preheated, place chicken on baking sheet or in baking dish and cook for 25-30 minutes until cooked. Let rest until ready to assemble.
While the chicken is cooking, in a large pan add 1 tbs of olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add the sliced red onion & garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Add brown sugar, paprika, thyme, white wine vinegar & water. Cooking for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very soft and brown. Season with salt and pepper. When the onions are done, you can turn off the heat and put them in a bowl until ready to use. Carefully wipe the pan clean - you will use this to grill the sandwiches.
At this point, remove the brie from the fridge and slice up. Slice the apple. Cut up the chicken into thin slices. Cut the buns horizontally. Get ready to assemble!
On the bottom bun, spread honey mustard. Place apple slices to just cover the bottom bun. Place chicken slices on top. Top with caramelized onions. the brie cheese and then the top bun. Heat pan over medium heat - either spray with some pam or add a knob (that's not a proper measurement... 1 tbs?) of butter. When hot, add 2-4 sandwiches to the pan - depending on how big the pan is and which type of bread you've used (long or square). Cook for 4 minutes - flattening it slightly with a spatula. Flip & cook for 4 more minutes (also pressing down with spatula - not for the full 4 minutes... that would be exhausting). At this point the sandwich should be crisp and the cheese melted.
ENJOY xo
