Oriental Panini with Shiitake Mushrooms (from Chef Mie Okuda)

Ingredients

1/2 medium size onion
8 shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 slices low-fat Swiss cheese
8 slices whole grain bread
Salt & pepper

Preparation

1. Slice the onion.
2. Remove stems from shiitake mushrooms and clean them with a paper towel.

Cooking

1. Preheat a non-stick frying pan, add butter and the shiitake mushrooms.
2. Make sure each mushroom is covered in butter, this will add to the flavor. Sauté for 2-3 min.
3. Add the onions and sauté them together with the mushrooms until they have a sweat aroma. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add soy sauce just before removing mushrooms and onion from the frying pan (soy sauce burns easily). Set aside.
5. Place Swiss cheese, onions and shiitake mushrooms on the sliced bread and sandwich it with the other half of bread.
6. Place the sandwiches into a panini toaster at medium heat for 4-5 min. (If you don’t have a panini toaster just spray a pan with oil and place the sandwiches under a plate, as a weight).

Nutrition Comments

Shiitake mushrooms contain the hypocholesterolemic agent eritadenine, which is known to reduce cholesterol. Shiitake mushrooms are high in fiber, and sometimes hard to digest.

Recipe & photo courtesy of Momokawa Culinary Arts, Inc.