Quick, fresh, and zingy.
I bought a loaf of Cuban bread (French or something similar would work fine), and let it sit for two days. When it came time to make the panzanella tonight, I cut the bread into one inch cubes with a serrated knife. Meanwhile, my sous chef and boyfriend, Jonathan, chopped the following veggies into bite size pieces: red pepper, yellow pepper, 2 small cucumbers, 2 large tomatoes (de-seeded). We threw all the veggies into a large bowl and added 1/3 of a red onion very thinly sliced, 20 leaves of basil roughly chopped, and 3 Tbs capers.
Next I tossed the bread chunks in 3 Tbs EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) in a large frying pan over medium heat until they were crunchy (~7 mins). Then I dumped the bread chunks in the bowl with the veggies.
After that I whisked 1/3 cup EVOO, 3 Tbs balsamic vinaigrette, 1 squeeze Dijon mustard, 1 tsp minced garlic, S & P (salt & pepper).
Finally, I poured the vinaigrette over the bread and veggie mix, tossed it well, and let it sit for ~20 minutes.
(Note: I think fresh mozzarella chunks would be awesome in this, but even without, it was delicious. I hope the left overs hold up for lunch tomorrow.)
The leftover panzanella was still delicious, and even more flavorful. However, the bread got a bit soggy, so I suggest that if you anticipate having leftovers, reserve some bread pieces. Add them the next day when you eat them so they are still a bit crunchy (which is how I like them)
ReplyDelete