Vegan Kale Grilled Cheese Panini

Tonight, while I go shop for super soft coloured skinny jeans, my boyfriend will be making us dinner before we head off to a friend's surprise 30th! He asked what to make, and I'm leaning towards this direction...

Kale Grilled Cheese Panini from paninihappy.com

With a few swaps here and there, this recipe can easily be veganized - and with a side of herbed oven roasted beets, I think we have a winner.

Veganized Version (makes 4 paninis)

Ingredients:


Grilled Garlic:

• 1 head garlic
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• Dash coarse salt

Sautéed Kale:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound kale, rinsed, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Coarse salt

Panini:

• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Butter, room temperature
• 8 slices Ezekial Bread
  
• 4 ounces Daiya Vegan cheddar cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the panini maker to medium-high heat.
2. Peel away the outer skin from the head of garlic, keeping the individual cloves intact. Slice off 1/4-inch from the top of the garlic, exposing the cloves. Lay the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap it. Drizzle the cut side with olive oil and season it with salt. Wrap the garlic in the foil. Place the cut side down on the grill and grill the garlic until the cloves are very soft and tender, about 30 minutes. Once they’re cool enough to touch, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Keep the panini maker on.
3. In the meantime, prepare the kale. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook them, stirring, until they’re tender and fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the red pepper flakes and the kale and carefully toss the kale to coat it in the oil. Pour in the water. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the kale for another 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the vinegar and season the kale with salt to taste.
5. For each sandwich: Spread vegan butter on two slices of bread to flavor the outside of the sandwich. Flip over one slice of bread and use a butter knife to spread 1/4 of the soft cloves of roasted garlic on the other side. Top the garlic with sautéed kale and vegan cheese. Close the sandwich with the other slice of bread, buttery side up.
6. Grill the panini, two at a time, until the vegan cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, 4 to 5 minutes.

NOTE: Save any extra sautéed kale to enjoy as a side dish – it’s fantastic on its own. It should keep for 3 to 5 days in a covered container in the refrigerator.


adapted from original recipe here