croutons Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Winter Panzanella Salad With Roasted Vegetables

A panzanella salad traditionally is made in summertime with fresh tomatoes and bread, but today I’m featuring a winter version of a panzanella salad. I promise you will love it and you’ll be surprised just how easy it is to make.

Go take a look inside your fridge and see what veggies you have in there, any combination would work, this is truly a freeform type of recipe.

Below is exactly what I had in my fridge.

I had a mix of broccoli, carrots, onion, peppers, brussel sprouts, sugar snap peas and cauliflower. If I had squash I would have added that, whatever you have will work.

Don’t be afraid to fill a whole sheet pan full of your favorite veggies like I did. Then drizzle them all over with olive oil, add salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees until golden, with still a little bite. Make sure you don’t over cook them, you don’t want mushy vegetables here.

Another important component to this salad is homemade croutons. I can’t stress enough how important it is to make your own, store bought ones do not compare.

I used a stale hunk of ciabatta for mine but any crusty bread would do. Just chunk it up, place on a baking sheet, drizzle and toss them with a generous amount of olive oil, pepper and I had a rosemary salt that I added.

You’re going to put those bread cubes into a 400 degree oven until they get golden and crispy, they don’t take too long so keep watching and tossing them.

Then the final important elements are a homemade vinaigrette and fresh bocconcini, ( fresh mozzarella). Again I stress homemade is best, so please don’t use a bottled dressing of any kind, making your own vinaigrette is easy to do and makes a world of difference to the taste and over all deliciousness of this salad.

I will add my vinaigrette recipe below at the end of the post.

After the veggies have been roasted and cooled down and the croutons and vinaigrette is made, it’s time to put this winter panzanella together.

Grab a pretty bowl, add the roasted veggies, torn basil and chopped fresh parsley. Toss in your croutons and bocconcini, use as much as you want and add in a few sliced cherry tomatoes for freshness.

All that’s left is to spoon that vinaigrette over the top and dig in! This could serve as a lunch, side dish or if you just feel like eating a bowl of goodness!

I hope you try this winter version of a panzanella salad.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Homemade Vinaigrette

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 part white balsamic vinegar
3 parts olive oil
a dollop of dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, grated
a pinch of salt and pepper
a pinch of dried oregano

Instructions

Place all the ingredients into a jar that has a lid.
Shake well until it all emulsifies together.
Store in the fridge when not using.

Ham Bone Split Pea Soup

Let’s face it, most families don’t often make a bone in, baked ham on their weekly rotation of meals, but on special holidays it’s often the star of the show.

Thanksgiving was a just a few days ago and ham was on the menu at my sister-in-laws house. Since she didn’t feel like doing anything with the ham bone she wrapped it up, rang my doorbell and gifted it to me!

Lucky me, there was still a lot of meat left on the bone so split pea with ham was surely going to happen! If you’ve never made split pea using a ham bone, you’re missing out. It gives it a ton of flavor and elevates the soup to another level, even pea haters love this soup!

Just a few ingredients to start the soup off, then it’s a nice slow simmer so all the flavors can meld together.

Grab a big pot with a lid and nestle the ham bone right into the center, then in a couple of hours you’ll be able to pick the meat off the bone.

As you stir the soup while it’s simmering the peas will break down and become nice and creamy!

Just the smell of of this soup simmering on the stove makes your home feel all comfy and cozy, it’s such a hearty and satisfying soup.

Keep in mind, you need something crunchy on top for garnish. So if you have any leftover bread, please make your own croutons. I had some leftover ciabatta bread that I cut up in cubes, drizzled it well with olive oil, then sprinkled it with salt and pepper then into a 400 degree oven til nice and golden.

Crunchy croutons on top of such a hearty, creamy, smokey, meaty delicious soup, I could go on and on!

There are many variations of this soup, some add potatoes ,but I don’t think you need them at all. Some add bacon instead of a ham bone, it may be good, but it’s just not the same. There are vegetarian versions but today we’re not going there. Try this once with a ham bone and you’ll be hooked!

Ham bones freeze well so if you don’t feel like making this right away, tuck it into your freezer for when you do.

And lastly this soup freezes well, so don’t be afraid to make a big batch!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Ham Bone Split Pea Soup

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 meaty ham bone, make sure to leave meat on that bone
1- 1lb. bag of green split peas, rinsed well
1 quart of chicken stock, low sodium
5 cups, water ( more to thin out soup if it thickens too much later)
1 large onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
6 thyme branches, stripped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
olive oil
good knob of butter
salt and pepper to taste
Homemade croutons for garnish

Instructions

In a large stock pot with lid, drizzle the bottom with olive oil and add the knob of butter.
Throw in the chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic, saute til soft.
Add the split peas and stir well.
Sprinkle in the thyme leaves along with the 2 bay leaves and a grind of black pepper.
Hold off on the salt until the end for taste because some hams tend to be saltier than others.
Pour in the chicken broth then nestle the ham bone right in the center.
Add additional cups of water, stirring well, then bring it to a boil, reduce, and let it simmer with lid on almost covered completely.
Cooking times vary somewhere between an hour and a half to 2 hours, mine took almost 2 hours on very low. The peas will break down and get nice and creamy
Keep checking and stirring.
When you start to see the meat falling off the bone, remove the bone, let it cool a little then start picking the meat off and placing the shredded meat back into the pot.
Discard bone.
Taste for salt, pepper and thyme, adding more if needed. Always stirring to check for thickness.
If need be, add a little more water for a looser soup. It's up to you on how thick you want your soup.
Garnish with homemade croutons.
Use a hearty style bread, cut into cubes, drizzled with olive oil, black pepper and a touch of salt.
Place into a 400 degree oven until crispy and golden, it goes fast so keep checking.
Enjoy!