Seasonal Sunday (07-24-11) with a Summer Panzanella from Wheat Free-Meat Free.

by Brittany on July 24, 2011

Welcome to this weeks Seasonal Sunday!

This week I am so excited to feature a beautiful guest post from my friend Kalinda.  As you can see she creates beautiful works of art in her kitchen! Check out her inspiring site Wheat Free- Meat Free.         This site has quite the list of recipe- some of my favorite include: Coconut Curry Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans),  Green Tea Ice Cream , Chocolate Lava Cake with Raspberry Sauce,Avocado Pie (And a Great Gluten-Free Pie Crust) and her Basil-Infused Sparkling Lemonade.

If thats not enough- each week she does a Vegetarian, Gluten Free Roundup featuring recipes from other bloggers!

Thank you Kalinda for sharing this gorgeous Summer Panzanella today! xo

Panzanella is a bread salad that comes from Italy. It’s basically a way to use up stale bread. I first heard about panzanella a few years ago, made a mental note to make it, and still had not managed to do so until this week. Brittany asked me if I would write a guest post to go along with her Seasonal Sunday event. As I was looking over the list of seasonal ingredients, it just clicked: Make panzanella! And so I did.

As I said, usually you start with stale bread. I didn’t have any though, so step #1 was to bake bread. Ideally, you want a rustic, crusty type of loaf. I used Ginger Lemon Girl’s Gluten-Free Vegan Crusty Bread recipe. I had never tried this recipe before, but I can assure you I will definitely make it again. Just look at it, it’s beautiful.

So, make some bread if you don’t already have some. This recipe makes 2 loaves. One is the perfect size for this recipe. Now, on to the panzanella.

For the salad:

  • 1 1/2 pounds crusty bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (~4 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 medium bell peppers, cubed (~2 1/2 cups)
  • 2 small-medium cucumbers, cubed (~3 cups)
  • 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced into semicircles
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil

For the vinaigrette:

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 clove of garlic, pressed or finely minced
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the bread. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
  2. While bread is cooking, place remaining salad ingredients in a large serving bowl. Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together. Set aside.
  3. Once the bread is ready, mix it with the salad ingredients. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve.

(Serves 4-6)

Panzanella generally contains fresh tomatoes. (There are some people out there who might look down on you if your panzanella is lacking tomatoes.) Be that as it may, I don’t like raw tomatoes. It’s the one food I’m picky about. (And please don’t tell me I just need to try fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes. I tried fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes every summer until I was well into college. I really just don’t like them.) However, I realize that there are many people who do love fresh tomatoes, so feel free to substitute some tomato in for some of the bell pepper or cucumber.

I think the salad tastes better if you let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving to give all the flavors a little time to come together. I hope you enjoy, and thank you to Brittany for asking me to write. :)

About the author: Kalinda blogs at Wheat-Free Meat-Free, where she shares treats like vegetarian chicken salad.

To keep with the usual Seasonal Sunday trend I’d like to also feature the following recipes shared last week:

Supremely Summery Raw Zucchini “Bruschetta” from Diet Dessert and Dogs.
Watermelon Curry from Allotment 2 Kitchen
Raspberry Chocolate Pudding from City|Life|Eats
Roasted Cherries and Coconut Milk Custard from Franny Cakes
Pico de Gallo from As Good as Gluten
Grain Free- Zucchini Pancakes from Real Food Forager
Skillet Squash Medley from C + C Marriage Factory

Now its your turn to share!

Guidelines for Linking:

  1. Recipes must contain one Seasonal Ingredient (See below for the list of foods that are currently in season)
  2. You may link up old or new recipes. Wonderful food is always worth sharing! Feel free to share up to 6 recipes each week.
  3. Gluten Free Recipes are NOT required- this event is meant to inspire ideas for all. However I do ask that if your recipe is Gluten Free that you give it the “GF” Label.
  4. Please include a link in your blog in reference to Seasonal Sundays so that your readers may also participate.

Summer (June 21st- September 22nd) : Fish, Shellfish, Garlic, Onions, Eggplant,Green Beans, Peppers, Greens (Arugula, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard) Sprouts, Baby Turnips, Zucchini, Peppers, Samphire, Basil, Cannellini Beans, Trompettes De Mort, Broad Beans, Zucchini, Runner Beans, Swiss Chard, Fava Beans, Peas, Potatoes, Borlotti Beans, Corn, Chanterelle Mushrooms,Cucumber, Okra, Bitter Melon, Cherries, Greenguages, Blackberries, Nectarines, Apricots, Mango’s, Plums, Watermelon, Figs, Strawberries, Peaches, Pears,Plums, Blueberries, Apricots, Rhubarb, Cherries, Blackcurrant, Raspberries, Walnuts, Cantaloupe Melon, Ume, Tomatoes. Tomatillos, Green Leafy Vegetables, Cabbage, Summer Squash. Kiwi. Limes.

Hope you all have a beautiful week!

Thank You again Kalinda!!

xo,

Brittany

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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Michele July 24, 2011 at 4:39 am

Mmm, looks so delicious and colorful! I love panzanella.

Reply

Jill July 24, 2011 at 12:41 pm

Hi Brittany,
Thanks for the mention. This week I shared my GF Zucchini Muffins with a video and my GF crepes with a video!

Reply

BrittanyAngell July 24, 2011 at 12:46 pm

They Look wonderful! Thanks Jill :)

Reply

Cozy Home Scenes July 24, 2011 at 2:45 pm

I love colorful dishes, and this panzanella looks mouthwatering. Thanks for sharing the recipe! Special thanks for hosting the party for us as well.

Reply

Larissa July 25, 2011 at 11:54 pm

True Kalinda fashion, skipping the tomatoes… I knew she had something tricky up her sleeve when she told me about her panzanella post. I thought we had finally converted her to the tomato side. Guess not. It looks fantastic regardless. Bravo, great colors and pictures.

Reply

BrittanyAngell July 26, 2011 at 12:39 am

Truth is- she did such a gorgeous job on this recipe that who would even miss the tomatoes? I agree- the pictures are stunning. Can't thank Kalinda enough!

Reply

frannycakesblog July 29, 2011 at 11:40 pm

Thanks for the mention! (Not sure how I didn't notice it when I read the panzanella recipe).

Reply

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{ 6 trackbacks }

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