JALAPEñO GARLIC TILAPIA PANINI

Jalapeño Garlic Tilapia Panini image

This is my own personal copycat recipe mimicking Johnny Carino's sandwich. Their menu description is "Fried fillet of tilapia with a garlic-jalapeño cream sauce, provolone cheese and sliced roma tomatoes." I think that I have accomplished this by using ideas from CoffeeMom's Super Easy Ritz Cracker Breading (recipe #98000) and ketchup's Garlic Cream Sauce (recipe #85676). (Thanks, guys!) We love this sandwich.

Provided by Ms B.

Categories Lunch/Snacks

Time 55m

Yield 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 14

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Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets
1 cup Club crackers, finely crushed
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon butter
1 small jalapeno, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream
8 slices hearty country Italian bread
2 tablespoons olive oil or 2 tablespoons butter
2 roma tomatoes, sliced thinly
8 slices provolone cheese

Steps:

Fish:.
Crush crackers and combine with pepper.
Dip fish fillets into beaten egg, and then coat with cracker crumbs.
Fry in 350 degree oil until breading is golden and fish flakes easily.
Remove to an oven-proof plate in a warm oven.
Sauce:.
Melt butter on low heat. Add jalapeño and garlic. Sauté until jalapeño is softened, but be careful not to burn garlic.
Add flour and stir while heating about a minute.
Add chicken broth and cook stirring until sauce thickens. Stir in sour cream.
Set aside until ready to assemble the panini's.
Panini:.
Brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil or spread with butter.
Assemble sandwiches with oiled/buttered side of bread to the outside, layering provolone cheese, sliced tomatoes, tilapia fillet, cream sauce and final slice of bread.
Spray a cast iron grill pan with cooking spray and heat to sizzling. Reduce heat to medium.
Place sandwich in grill pan and top with second cast iron skillet. Press down lightly. (You want to smush the sandwich lightly, but not squash it completely.).
Cook for 1-2 minutes, depending on the heat of your pan, until the sandwich is browned and grill marks are evident.
Flip sandwich and again top with second cast iron skillet. Cook for another minute or so, until fully browned.
Serve warm with fresh salad or crunchy kettle-cooked chips.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 649.7, Fat 35.9, SaturatedFat 16.3, Cholesterol 162.8, Sodium 1144.9, Carbohydrate 33.9, Fiber 1.9, Sugar 3.3, Protein 47.6