Panzanella Salad

Also known as bread salad, this perfect summer dish is an Italian favorite. You can use the veggies and herbs presented here or use whatever veggies and added protein you have on hand.

This is affordable at $4.10. Add some protein and you can have a full meal for approximately $5.00

This is also a recipe that can be quickly made day-of, although the prep can be made quicker by toasting up the bread on your prep day and purchasing a ready made vinaigrette.

Yield: 4

Author: Beth Richey, MS, RDN

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Panzanella Salad

Perfect Summer Salad that can be easily modified to fit the veggies and protein you have on hand.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min

Ingredients

Salad

• 9 oz ciabatta bread (~3 cups cubed)
• 1 garlic clove, cut in half
• 2 ripe tomatoes (medium-large)
• ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 zucchini, small, sliced in half
• 1 bell pepper, yellow, cut in half and seeds removed
• Spray oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 recipe lemon vinaigrette
• 2 oz feta cheese (optional)
• 1/8 cup fresh basil (or any fresh herbs), finely sliced.

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

1. 1) Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. 2) Cut ciabatta bread in half, rub with garlic clove and cut into 1” cubes.
3. 3) Layer bread cubes onto a baking sheet, spray with oil
4. 4) Bake, uncovered for ~7-10 minutes until bread becomes crispy and slightly brown.
5. 5) Remove bread from oven, spread cubes onto a cooling rack and set aside.
6. 6) While the bread is toasting, make vinaigrette. Combine the first 6 ingredients into a small bowl. Whisk ingredients while slowly adding the oil to form an emulsion. Set vinaigrette aside.
7. 7) Spray zucchini and bell pepper with oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
8. 8) Cook zucchini and peppers on a well oiled, low heat grill. Allow veggies to cook for 2-4 minutes on each side to achieve well defined grill marks, but not allowing the vegetables to become too soft. The peppers will likely need to cook longer than the zucchini.
9. 9) Remove veggies from the grill and cut into ½ inch slices.
10. 10) To assemble the salad layer cubed bread onto the bottom of a large plate or platter. Top bread with diced tomatoes + juice, then grilled veggies. Drizzle veggies with lemon vinaigrette and top with fresh basil and feta cheese.