The calendar says fall is right around the corner and store aisles are full of pumpkins and fall foliage. Football has returned to the weekend and coffee shops are loading up on pumpkin spice. But the thermometer is still hanging on to summer. While you may be anxiously awaiting those night of soup and hot cocoa around a bonfire, the weather is demanding something cool and refreshing with little cooking involved.
Normally a crisp, green salad would fit the bill perfectly, but sometimes that can just be boring. However, salads come in many varieties and don’t always have to be based around lettuce or another leafy green. A Panzanella salad is a great way to continue to use home grown tomatoes as well as decrease food waste by utilizing an often thrown out staple…..stale bread. At its heart, a Panzanella salad is a vegetable and bread dish that originated in Tuscany. When I first learned about this salad, I was quite confused how bread could become part of a salad. It’s origin is traced back to the 14th century, when bread was baked weekly in a communal oven. Without modern preservation techniques, this bread would go stale and hard very quickly. In order to stretch food, people would soften the old bread in water or vinegar and add in chopped vegetables. While it is classically is thought of as containing tomatoes, early version likely only had onions as the main vegetable.
My Panzanella salad, and most modern renditions in America, don’t stick to these original rules. Now Panzanella salad is a great way to use up lots of vegetables like cucumber, capers, bell peppers, and even corn. This veggie packed salad makes a wonderful side dish for any baked or grilled meat, but I turn mine into a complete meal by adding in cannellini beans. Cannellini beans are a creamy, mild-flavored white bean that can be added to soups, stews, salads, and dips. Each ½ cup serving packs in 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber for zero added fat grams. The fiber along with their low glycemic index makes these a great protein choices for those looking to prevent blood glucose spikes while enjoying a meat-free meal.
Panzanella Salad
Salad Ingredients:
4 cups of crusty, slightly stale sourdough bread, cubed
3 cups of ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn or chopped
Dressing
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small clove of garlic, minced or grated
¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toast the dry bread cubes on a baking dish for 8-10 minutes until crisp and lightly golden. Remove to a bowl to cool. In a separate bowl, make the dressing by whisking together the oil, vinegar, and mustard. Add in the garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. This dressing can be stored in the refrigerator and used on any salad you enjoy. Add the chopped tomatoes, onions, and beans to a bowl and top with half of the dressing. Allow the vegetables to marinate in the dressing for 5-10 minutes. Add in the toasted bread and the remainder of the dressing. Toss to combine and allow the bread to absorb the dressing for about 5-10 minutes.
