panzanella Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Winter Panzanella Salad With Roasted Vegetables

February 20, 2021 by Marie 9 Comments

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.

9 Comments Filed Under: Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Winter Tagged: croutons, homemade breadcrumbs, panzanella, roasted veggies

Springtime Panzanella Salad

April 24, 2019 by Marie 2 Comments

Classic panzanella is made with bread and fresh ripe tomatoes and it’s a very popular dish to make in the summertime when tomatoes are at their peak. My springtime panzanella salad presented here, which is obviously a twist on the classic, highlights peak season asparagus and other spring produce that is available now.

This version features some cooked vegetables as well as raw, a dreamy vinaigrette made with a good quality olive oil and of course crispy chunks of toasted bread throughout.

This spring green version is crisp and light, it’s hearty enough to stand alone or pretty enough to be side by side next to the perfect main of your choice. So you might want to consider this for your next party , picnic or BBQ.

Grab a baguette, slice it up and toss with olive oil, a little salt and pepper and a touch of granulated garlic, place into a hot oven until nice and crispy, then break it into crispy chunks so you can scatter throughout the salad.

This springtime panzanella salad is filled with fresh asparagus that has been blanched and thrown into an ice bath then completely padded dry, ribbons of yellow squash made with a vegetable peeler, english cucumber slices, chunks of orange pepper, red onion, defrosted peas or fresh, radish slices, sliced cherry tomatoes, a handful of arugula topped with shaved parmigiano reggiano and fresh basil.

No need for exact measurements, depending on the size of your platter just fill it with the above mentioned ingredients placed evenly all around. You can easily add, remove or change up some of the ingredients and customize it to your own personal liking, even changing up the bread if you so desire.

Now let’s talk about the vinaigrette, I like to make it in a small mason jar by adding 1 part red wine vinegar to 3 parts of your best olive oil, add in 1 teaspoon of mayo (yes mayo) a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper then shake, shake, shake. That’s it! Just spoon it all over and serve immediately.

Serve this up to your family and friends with all the seasonal veggies that are available right now and enjoy every bite!

2 Comments Filed Under: Salads, Spring Tagged: panzanella, spring salad, zucchini ribbons

Summer Eats to Beat the Heat

August 4, 2014 by Marie 9 Comments

This right here is heaven on a plate to me! Creamy, dreamy Burrata cheese, grilled artichokes, garden fresh tomatoes loaded with fresh basil, a little prosciutto and some grilled crusty bread. This is good eating!

When it’s hot outside this is what we like to eat. The artichokes are the only thing I cooked here, I make them all summer long, they’re so addicting. If you’re an artichoke fan like we are and you prefer a lighter summer version, then this one is for you.

They’re stuffed with romano cheese, parsley, garlic and lemon zest and then placed on the grill until the cheese melts and gets nice and crusty. My Grilled Artichokes is one of my most pinned recipes and it’s so simple to make! You can find it here.

Since we have a ton of tomatoes coming in daily from our garden almost every meal includes them, so that’s what this post is about, some of the ways I use them.

This was our dinner the other night, roasted peppers, grilled zucchini, asiago cheese, prosciutto, salami, castelvetrano olives and some totally crunchy frezzelle which is the perfect base for our juicy garden tomatoes. I added some apple slices and a glass of wine and we were happy campers!

My husband would take this over a steak any day, we love to eat like this, especially in the hot summer months.

Here’s a salad that’s a meal in itself, garden tomatoes, fresh basil, olives, onions, grilled zucchini and chunks of crispy bread doused with olive oil and grilled, sort of like a panzanella, although a true panzanella requires you to wet the bread, I prefer mine crispier.

The dressing is made with a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar but the magic happens when everything gets tossed together and all the flavors meld into one. The tomatoes can either make or break this dish so be sure to take advantage of all that summer offers.