I've had this frozen asparagus sitting in my freezer and diced ciabatta bread in my refrigerator waiting to make this recipe. This morning it finally happened.
Panzanella is an Italian bread salad originating from the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Lazio. It features bread, tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and vinegar. Those ingredients, however, serve simply as the foundation for a panzanella. Think of it as a fridge clearing meal, and use it to get rid of any extra ingredients, such as onion, lettuce, white/red wine, capers, garlic, bell peppers, lemon juice, cucumber, mint, etc.
My recipe for Asparagus Panzanella is adapted from a grilled asparagus panzanella recipe on
Serious Eats. The difference is, I threw in some garlic paste (made it myself, instructions to come), diced basil and bacon, roasted the asparagus in the oven and left out the capers and olives. Next time I will try searing the tomatoes until they caramelize for a little added sweetness and depth.
In total, it was about 5 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cook time. How about that for a quick meal, particularly when you don't want a hot oven on. You could probably roast the asparagus in a toaster oven for even more heat/money savings. For now, here is the recipe. See what you make of it.
Of course, today was the day that the office treated me to lunch from
Jetties, but I known I have a great meal for dinner now.
What an awsome idea. I havnt even thought to do this with bread. I am sure that if I toast up some bread that is a day or two too old and this salad thingy, my family will love me muchly. thanks for the idea, I hate throwing out food and always wonder what to make. Good idea.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a great way to use up old bread. I don't eat bread quickly enough so I've been trying to find recipes that take advantage of this.
ReplyDeleteI posted a recipe for torrijas (spanish french toast) which is meant for stale bread and tastes great. You should check it out. Make a great weekend breakfast.