Steak, Arugula, Provolone, Pickled Onion Paninis: Transforming leftovers

I think one of the challenges of cooking is how to eliminate leftovers. More often than not, I CAN get away with serving what we had for dinner the night before as lunch the day after, but sometimes leftovers linger longer than that and then they just aren't special. I had quite a bit of the Korean Flank Steak leftover so I wanted to turn it into something yummy. Since my favorite thing to eat EVER is a sandwich, I thought a warm panini would be a nice treat. I rummaged through my leftover pool and discovered -

- a half eaten bag of arugula (some leaves were not so nice, but quite a few were usable.)
- some pugliese bread
- leftover pickled onions (by the way - one should ALWAYS have these on hand to make a grilled cheese sandwich something special)
-provolone cheese

This became my sandwich - and my was it good! I did use my non-panini grill panini making technique - which is simply smooshing my sandwich while in the fry pan under another fry pan and truly it does make for some special crusting of the bread.

Steak, Arugula, Provolone, Pickled Onion Panini
Makes 2 sandwiches

4 slices of bread of your choice (I had stale pugliese loaf and I simply sliced it)
1/2 lb steak, sliced thinly (I used the Korean flank steak recipe, but you can use what you have)
1 cup of arugula
2 slices of provolone cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Pickled onions (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon mustard (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil

One one slice of bread, spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. Layer 1/2 of the steak on top. Top with pickled onions. Top with arugula and provolone. Finish with a slice of bread (spread with mustard if desired). Repeat and make 2 sandwiches total.

In a nonstick fry pan, over medium low heat, heat 1 tablespoons olive oil. Swirl the pan so the oil spreads and carefully place the sandwich in the pan. Cover the sandwich with another fry pan, pushing down on the pan to provide the smoosh factor. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the bread is golden and crispy. Flip the sandwich, lay the pan down again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan, allow it to cool for a moment, and then slice it in half and enjoy!

Pickled Onions

1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup vinegar (I used rice vinegar, but white vinegar is fine too)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Place onions in a shallow bowl and pour vinegar, salt, and sugar on top. Mix and stir and submerge all the onions. (add a bit more vinegar if necessary.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Printable recipe

Not too shabby for leftovers, eh?

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