Goat Cheese, Peach and Basil Panini

Cold cuts, see ya later. This school year, we’re making a goat cheese, peach and basil panini on repeat. The recipe comes from Aviva Wittenberg’s new cookbook, Lunchbox, and it makes a good case for buying a panini pan (though you can use a grill pan if you don’t have one).

“Quick grilled sandwiches are not only delicious but incredibly versatile,” Wittenberg writes, “and, it turns out, very practical because they hold together in your lunchbox no matter how much you might throw your school bag around in the yard before going to the classroom for the day.”

It’s optional, but she suggests packing this sweet-and-savory sandwich with a fresh kohlrabi slaw for balance. (If you haven’t tried it, kohlrabi is a turnip that tastes like raw broccoli stems: sweet, crisp and a little peppery.) To make it, peel and grate a few bulbs of kohlrabi on the coarse side of a box grater until you have 2 cups, then toss with the juice of ½ a lime, 1 thinly sliced scallion, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds.

Lunch has never looked (or tasted) better.

_{Excerpted from Lunchbox by Aviva Wittenberg. Copyright © 2022 Aviva Wittenberg. Photography © 2022 Aviva Wittenberg. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.}