You Don’t Need Italian Dough to Make Panzanella!
Have you ever heard of panzanella? It’s a bread salad that’s served cold and, originating in Italy, is usually made with Italian dough. But you don’t need to bake fresh or even frozen bread dough in order to make it; just use leftover rolls.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 frozen rolls (enough to make 4 cups,) defrosted, cut into 1” cubes, and left out overnight
- 6 slices bacon, chopped and browned with fat reserved
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups heirloom tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped, washed, and dried
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions:
- With bacon fat still in the skillet that you browned the bits in, toss cubes of rolls. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and turn heat to medium-high. Place cherry tomatoes into the pan, cut side down, until they are carmalized, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk red wine vinegar together with salt and pepper. Slowly stream in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, whisking the entire time to fully emulsify the oil and vinegar together.
- In a large bowl combine dressing and all other ingredients and mix well to fully combine. Garish with mint and basil leaves and serve.
You’ll be giving your customers the best of Italy, and the best of bread, all in one bowl with this salad!