Panini (sandwich)
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A panino (Italian pronunciation: [paˈniːno]) is a sandwich made from a small roll or loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta or a rosetta. The loaf is cut horizontally and filled with salami, ham, cheese, mortadella or other food, and sometimes served hot after having pressed in a grill.
A toasted panino, colloquially called "toast" by Italians, is made out of two vertical slices of pane in cassetta almost invariably filled with prosciutto and a few of slices of processed cheese, grilled in a sandwich press.
It is traditionally served without any kind of sauce or topping, although in some parts of the world it may be customary to do so in order to accommodate local taste.
The word "panino" [pa'ni:no] is Italian (literally meaning small bread roll), with the plural panini. "Panini" is often used in a singular sense by speakers of English and French, as for "salami" (Italian plural for salame), and pluralised solecismically into "paninis".
In Italian, panino refers properly to a bread roll and a "panino imbottito" (literally "stuffed panino") to a sandwich; so a paninoteca is a sandwich bar. In Central Italy, there is a popular version of panino which is filled with porchetta, i.e. slices of roasted pork.
During the 1980s, the term paninaro (slang term originally born to indicate maker and seller of panini, or its shop, and then extended to its patrons as well) was used to denote a youngsters' culture typical of teenagers supposed to eat and meet in sandwich bars such as Milan's Al Panino and then in the first US-style fast food being opened in Italy in the mid-80s. Paninari were depicted as fashion-fixated, vain individuals, delighting in showcasing early 80s status symbols such as Timberland shoes, Moncler accessories, Ray-Ban sunglasses and articles from Armani, Coveri, Controvento. They were lampooned in the Italia 1 comedy show Drive-in by Enzo Braschi. A track entitled "Paninaro" appears on Pet Shop Boys' albums Disco and Alternative.
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