Grilled Turkey with Pear, Spinach, Manchego Cheese & Blood Orange Infused Olive Oil.

I know this will probably sound conceited but I have truly outdone myself this time. The inspiration for this originally came from a place called Soups and Stews. They moved across town a few months ago and we decided to try out the new location. It went from fabulous to terrible. It was so bad, even the name turns me off now. I won’t complain too much because that trip brought me to a place called From Olives and Grapes where they sell all kinds of wonderfully flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars. I got two things that day and one of them was Blood Orange infused Olive Oil. I had no clue what to do with it but I knew it had possibilities.

So fast forward to today and I decided on soup and sandwiches for dinner. The soup, cream of mushroom. The sandwich, a delightful roasted turkey. I added spinach instead of traditional lettuce, manchego cheese and thinly sliced pears. I wanted to toast them but that usually means butter and I didn’t want that. Instead we lightly brushed some of the flavored olive oil on just one side of each piece of bread and bingo! One of the best sandwiches ever. It’s a little more involved, but only slightly and I would certainly recommend trying it.
The ingredients are simple:

• Spinach leaves, stems cut off.

• Manchego cheese, either thinly sliced or crumbled
• Roasted turkey, sliced
• Pears thinly sliced
• citrus flavored olive oil

Preheat your oven to broil on HI
Start with a warm pan, only a medium heat is necessary. Lightly brush one side of each piece of bread with the flavored olive oil and lay them oil side down in the pan.
Pile your spinach up on one side of the bread, about 2 layers.
Add your cheese. About now, your bread should be starting to toast nicely.

At this point you should have both pieces of bread in the pan (oil side down) and one side should be layered with the spinach and cheese. Put on an oven mit and take the pan by the handle and hold it directly under the broiler. You are just melting the cheese and wilting the spinach. This takes literally 20 to 30 seconds. When this is complete, put the pan back on the stove top. At this point you might want to add some black pepper to the melted cheese.
Layer on the sliced pears
Layer on the turkey
Check the underside of the other piece of bread. When it is toasted to your likeness, put the sandwich together and remove from the heat.
And you’re done!

A few notes:
1. I know what you’re thinking… pears… on a sandwich? Try it, you might be surprised. We used Bosc pears but I don’t think it matters much. They are sweet of course but work well even when not as ripe. I like the flavor either way.
2. When it comes to the meat, the truth is, you can use left over turkey or even roasted chicken, either lends itself well
3. You will notice that there are no sauces on this sandwich, no mayo, no mustard, nothing. It absolutely didn’t need it but if you are unsure, make a small test sandwich first and cut it into pieces. Let everyone try it, that way you know what to tweek.
4. If you have a panini press, all the better!

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