A hearty yet sophisticated sandwich with enough meat in it to satisfy big appetites. Don’t use your stale, leftover croissants for this; you want the butter to melt and crisp up the dough, making it even flakier and completely delicious.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　4 croissants

　　4 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)

　　8 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

　　4 ounces Genoa salami (about 24 slices)

　　5 ounces arugula

　　

Step 1

Heat a panini press. Slice one croissant in half horizontally and place both halves on a work surface, cut side up. Divide 1/3 cup of the smoked Gouda between the top and bottom halves of each croissant, then sprinkle each half with 1 teaspoon of the Parmesan. Top each side with about 3 slices of Genoa salami (about 1 ounce of salami per sandwich, total). Top one half of the sandwich with a small handful of arugula. Close the sandwich and repeat to make 3 more sandwiches. Grill the panini until the cheese melts, 3 to 4 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Cut each sandwich into thirds. Place the remaining arugula on a serving platter. Place the warm sandwich slices on the arugula. Serve hot.

　　Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.