Red Dragon, with its robust cheddar, mustard and ale flavors, would make a fantastic grilled cheese sandwich on its own (read my “review” of this great cheese!). In fact, I broiled a few open-faced ones for breakfast last week! But since the point of my Cheese, Please! series is not only to find great cheeses for panini but also to identify delicious complementary fillings, I looked to hearty roast beef and fresh, peppery arugula to round out my Red Dragon panini.
A cheese that comes with its own condiment “built” right in…what will they think of next? I didn’t realize how much I’d love the fact that Red Dragon is made with mustard until I sampled it as a basic little cheese-on-baguette sandwich at Venissimo last week. They offer a great lunch “special” – you pick your cheese and your bread and they make you a little sandwich, with a side of fresh fruit. Not bad at all for $5. It gave me a chance to really taste the cheese and think about what other foods might taste good with it. In my notebook, I jotted down “roast beef for sure” – I always love roast beef sandwiches with cheddar and lots of spicy whole grain mustard.
With all of this big flavor on the inside of the sandwich, I decided to emphasize texture when it came to choosing the bread. I found this great cracked wheat sourdough at Trader Joe’s that finished everything off with a slight nuttiness. Not only that, I was able to get some really nice, golden grill marks – the hallmark of great panini. 🙂
Red Dragon, Roast Beef & Arugula Panini
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
4 slices sourdough bread
Olive oil
Arugula
6 slices roast beef
4 oz. Red Dragon cheese, sliced thinly
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat panini grill to medium-high heat (375 degrees).
For each sandwich: Brush a little olive oil onto the outer side of each slice of bread. On the inside of one slice, layer a small handful of arugula, 3 slices of roast beef and about 2 oz. of Red Dragon. Place the other slice on top (olive oil side up) and grill 5-6 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden grill marks appear. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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I admit, I am a panini fanatic. This sandwich looks awesome!
This looks amazing.
What a great looking sandwich!
Ooooh, it looks fabulous!
HoneyB, Alex, MS&S, Elle – Thanks so much! I’m really enjoying this cheese kick 🙂
That sandwich looks really good!
simply put, that cheese sounds absolutely incredible. nice panini!
I keep hearing about this red dragon cheese, I really have to try it. This looks great!
Looks awesome!
Kevin, JS – Many thanks!!
Grace, Cathy – You’ve gotta try the Red Dragon! The girl at the cheese shop mentioned that Trader Joe’s might carry it as well.
Ooh a panini blog! Very happy to have discovered it 🙂
Yummy! I just added your site to my list of favorite blogs, Kathy.
Red Dragon is one of my favorite cheeses. The panini combination sounds delicious.
I am drooling over this one. LOVE the red dragon, and the arugula is still going strong here in the garden!
I am also a fan of red dragon cheese. You should try putting a small amount of mayonnaise on the outside of the bread in place of any butter you might use before making your Panini. It adds an excellent taste to the grilled cheese sandwich. Hope you enjoy.