Tag Archives: panzanella

THE Panzanella

PANZANELLA

It’s toasted bread! It’s veggies! It’s panzanella coming to the rescue!

First off, apologies all around for the technical difficulties last week, and to those of you who got a sad, gray, “Legacy IP DNS blah blah” message instead of a recipe for Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade. Thanks to a kind man named Piotr who desperately needs a vowel, we are back up and running. Now, on to this weekend.

Some recipes you just have to know. Ina Garten’s panzanella is one of them, especially in summer. In addition to being a way to use a whole lot of summer’s best produce, it’s easy to prep, easy to bring, easy to assemble and it’s DELISH. Plus, it’s a way to eat crispy bread and call it dinner (or breakfast if you can’t help yourself the morning after). Ina (AKA The Barefoot Contessa, and the goddess of bringing it) has many panzanellas in her repertoire, including an awesome greek version, but if you only master this one (and you will on your first try) the Kingdom of Picnic Greatness is yours. 

As I mentioned in the recipe for Asparagus Panzanella, you can use your imagination, your cravings and the contents of your produce bin to tweak panzanella in all kinds of ways. It’s a tasty go-to on some seriously hot days. And by the way, if you live in the Upper Valley and are looking for some places to cool off check out this post on Swimming Holes and Soft Serve.

Ok peeps, stay cool out there!

Ina’s Panzanella

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

For the Salad:

  • 3 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (I have used halved cherry or grape tomatoes as well.)
  • 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
  • 20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons capers, drained

For the vinaigrette:

  • 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
  • 1/2 cup good olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

Bringing it:

You can prep the bread, veggies and vinaigrette in advance and store in their own containers. Mix it all up on site a half hour before serving.

Asparagus Panzanella

Spring fever in Doug and Kelley's asparagus patch.

Spring fever in Doug and Kelley’s asparagus patch. Arm yourself with a sharp knife and a healthy appetite.

As we come up on the one year anniversary of Bring It! we’re shaking it up a little (just a little, I promise) with the Ingredient of the Month. We pick something seasonal and feature it in a few posts that month. It’s not rocket science, but it’s progress. May’s ingredient is asparagus. We’re already getting to the end of the month but the tenacious winter kept those spears in hiding for quite some time. Now they’re out and those lucky enough (and smart enough) to have their own asparagus patch quite literally have their hands full.

Doug and Kelley Lewis are among the lucky/smart ones. Doug affirms that asparagus is indeed hard to start/plant, “but after two years of waiting for the roots to properly build, the harvests every spring are awesome. We got over 100 stalks just today!!!” Their typical spring dinner is grilled asparagus (preferably a bit scorched and black) with rice and cut veggies or grilled sweet potatoes as sides. Preferred cooking method is to lightly oil the spears with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and throw them naked on the grill. “Steaming is easy, fast and inside,” says Doug. “Just sprinkle with a bit of salt and/or a squeeze of lemon. And they are yummy in scrambled eggs.”

Too much asparagus is a good problem to have, especially when you know about Asparagus Panzanella. Panzanella is one of those genius dishes that almost makes you feels like you’re cheating by calling it a meal—like eating cereal for dinner but way better. It’s basically a salad of toasted bread and whatever combination of fresh herbs and vegetables makes you happy. Pharrell Williams dancing-in-the-kitchen happy.

Naked Guns—pure, clean asparagus ready to grill.

Naked Guns—pure, clean asparagus ready to grill.

The Holy Grail of Panzanella’s is Ina Garten’s classic, so I used her method for toasting up the bread. Whereas hers uses cucumbers, tomatoes and basil, this one uses asparagus,  ricotta salata and spicy greens. You can go peas, mint and parm, or cilantro, corn and avocados. You get the picture.  

Taste-wise ricotta salata is sort of a mild feta with good structural integrity. Look at this as a way not only to eat bread for dinner but also to use whatever fresh stuff you have on hand. You can boil, roast or grill the asparagus.

Asparagus Panzanella

Adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients

Asparagus Panzanella

The Food and Wine version of this feast. Let’s just double the bread shall we? Now we’re talking!

4 large eggs
2 pounds fat asparagus, peeled (if using thinner asparagus just trim or snap off the tough ends)
3 Tbsp good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups packed young mustard greens or chicory (or arugula)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 lb ricotta salata, thinly sliced or crumbled
1 watermelon radish or 2 large red radishes, very thinly sliced

For the Vinaigrette

1 Garlic clove (minced)
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
3 Tbsp Sherry Vinegar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Put the eggs in a saucepan of water and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. Simmer for 6 minutes. Drain the saucepan and fill it with cold water. Crack the eggs all over and let stand in the water for 1 minute. Peel and thickly slice the eggs; the yolks will be barely cooked but not runny.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed. (Bread cubes can be toasted earlier in the day and left a room temp, and covered for God’s sake so nobody scarfs them down.)

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil; prepare an ice bath. Cook asparagus until bright green and just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer immediately to ice bath. Drain; place on a clean kitchen towel. (alternatively toss asparagus in olive oil and grill or roast). Cut stalks into fork-friendly pieces.

In a small bowl, whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together.
In a large bowl, toss the asparagus, toasted bread, greens, onion and cheese. Drizzle with the dressing, toss, taste, and adjust to desired dressy-ness. Let sit a few minutes for bread to absorb dressing. Garnish with the eggs and radish and serve.

Bring It!

This is a genius option to bring to a friend’s house, a picnic or a Drive-In. All the elements—toasted bread, veggies, dressing and cheese—can be prepped in advance, packaged separately and assembled on site.

Please do note that this is more method than recipe. Experiment with combinations that you like in other dishes or whatever fresh veggies and cheese you like and have on hand. Again, it’s toasted garlic bread for dinner. Don’t fight this. It’s all good!