Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella
Enjoy the best of summer vegetables in a light yet satisfying Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella with a homemade vinaigrette!
We’re celebrating the Recipe ReDux’s 5th birthday this month! To commemorate the occasion, we were challenged to pick a fellow ReDuxer, go to their blog, and either make one of their recipes or create one of your own inspired by theirs. Such a fun way to celebrate the Recipe Redux and the members who participate each month!
While perusing other Recipe Redux members’ sites, I didn’t have a particular recipe idea in mind. I was just waiting for the right recipe to jump out at me. When I came across this Roasted Summer Panzanella on the blog Chard in Charge, I knew it was exactly what I had been searching for all along!
I’ve tossed around the idea of a Panzanella salad for a while but just never got around to it. I love the simple dressing that Chard in Charge created for her Panzanella salad, so I stuck with the same vinaigrette but just added a touch of black pepper. I think the idea of roasting the vegetables for the salad is fantastic. Roasted zucchini, grape tomatoes, and red onions are a winning combination, especially with the balsamic vinaigrette.
Panzanella is Italian for “bread salad” and usually includes tomatoes, onions, and basil. Check, check, and check! I kept all the classics in this Panzanella salad and just added in a couple of not-so-traditional ingredients—zucchini and mozzarella.
The most important part about a Panzanella salad is choosing a hearty bread. A whole-grain baguette was the perfect fit. You can use a stale loaf of bread in this recipe rather than buying fresh bread and drying it out in the oven, but I’m not sure I have the restraint to keep a delicious loaf of bread sitting on my counter untouched long enough to let it get stale 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 whole grain baguette cut into 1-inch cubes
- ⅓ cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons divided
- 1 small red onion quartered and sliced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 2 medium zucchini cut into half moons
- salt
- black pepper
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
- 4 cups arugula
- ½ cup packed basil leaves chopped
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Arrange bread cubes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Bake bread cubes for 20-25 minutes to crisp the bread. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Place prepared vegetables on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast in oven for 15 minutes, turning half way through cooking. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While vegetables are roasting, prepare the vinaigrette by combining 1/3 cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, whole grain mustard, and black pepper to taste in a liquid measuring cup. Whisk the dressing together.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread cubes, roasted vegetables, and half of the balsamic vinaigrette. Toss to combine. You do not want to over-saturate the bread cubes but they should soften a bit. Cover the bowl and allow salad to sit in the fridge for 1 hour to "soak".
- Add the mozzarella cubes, arugula and fresh basil prior to serving.
Celebrate with the rest of the Recipe Redux crew by checking out all of the other recipes in this month’s round-up—just click on the recipe photos below. Enjoy the rest of your week and thanks for stopping by!
This is inspiring. I need to make a panzanella salad! Pinning
Thank you Diane!
This looks so wonderful!