Seasonal recipe: Sourdough panzanella with summer vegetables

Just add it straight to your recipe book. It's that good.

Tue, Jul 28 2009 at 9:32 PM

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Healthy Eating, Organic Cooking, Recipes, Vegetarianism & Veganism

Sourdough panzanella with summer vegetables

Fellow Jersey girl and food blogger Alexandra Harcharek from A Food Coma was inspired by Ina Garten to create this Sourdough panzanella. Panzanella is a traditional Italian dish that uses up stale bread. There are several recipes for panzanella out there – each one a little different from the next. Some have you simply soak the stale bread in water and ring out the excess. Others have you crisp the bread on the stovetop then marinate it in a vinaigrette.

Panzanella is one of the dishes I hoped to get around to making this summer, and when I saw Alexandra’s recipe, I knew I’d found the one I wanted to make. Good choice. This is delicious. A real keeper. I could eat this every day. In fact, there is a little leftover, and I’m really looking forward to having it for lunch.

I made it as a side dish, but this could certainly be a standalone dish. It’s served at room temperature – perfect for a summer meal. All of the vegetables for the panzanella are in season right now and came from my local farmers market. The basil came straight from my back yard.

Ingredients

Sourdough bread, cut into 1″ cubes (about 3 cups)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 yellow squash, sliced on a diagonal
2 bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1″ cubes (use red, orange, or yellow for nice color!)
6-8 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1/2 red onion, cut in 1″ cubes
4-5 fresh basil leaves, cut in strips

Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Time Estimates

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 20 min

Total time: 35 min

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, spread out the chopped garlic, onion, squash, peppers and tomatoes and coat with one tablespoon olive oil. Roast for 15-18 minutes, stirring once, until just starting to soften and release juices.
In a large frying pan, heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil. Toss in the bread cubes and season lightly with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the cubes are crusty and slightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To make vinaigrette dressing, firmly whisk together all ingredients until blended. Season to your tastes with salt and pepper.
In your serving bowl, toss together the bread cubes and vegetables. Pour dressing over the bread and vegetable mixture and then set aside for thirty minutes to let it absorb the flavors. Before serving, stir in strips of fresh basil.

Yield

Makes 6-8 servings

Recipe reprinted with permission.

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