Panzanella is a bread salad traditionally made with tomatoes, onion, olive oil and bread. While the original version is truly delicious, changing up the ingredients in a panzanella is a really fun way to pair vegetables together. Early in the season we made a grilled radicchio version that is still one of my favorites from our meal plan! For this fall inspired version, I toasted bread cubes in the oven, and roasted the squash at the same time. While the bread is toasting and squash is roasting shake together the dressing ingredients. Wash the greens and you’re just about ready. I used peppery arugula which pairs great with the sweetness of the delicata squash.
You can use your favorite bread, I went with a hearty multigrain boule which stood up nicely to the squash and peppery greens. A small loaf, will work, since you’ll just need 4 cups of cubed bread. Slice the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and chop into thin slices. The squash takes about 10 minutes more than the bread, so get the squash in the oven, then prep the bread. They should be done right around the same time. Toss the bread cubes in the dressing first, then mix the greens, squash, and bread together. The dressing soaks into the bread and is really flavorful, but there is still enough dressing to coat the greens and squash.
The dressing is flavored with finely grated parmesan and fresh sage. If you want to make a dairy free version, just skip the cheese. Save a few sage leaves for garnishing the finished salad.
Delicata Squash Panzanella serves 4
1/2 delicata squash, seeds removed, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups hearty bread cubes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 bunch arugula, washed, stems removed, chopped into bite size pieces
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons parmesan
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh sage leaves
Preheat oven to 425F. Toss squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Roast on a baking pan for about 20-25 minutes. Toss bread cubes with remaining olive oil and sea salt. Toast in the oven for 15 minutes until bread is dry throughout and toasted. While squash and bread are roasting combine dressing ingredients. Remove bread from the oven, place in a bowl and toss with dressing. Place arugula and warm squash in a large bowl and toss, add dress bread cubes and toss until dressing is evenly distributed. Garnish with sage leaves and finely grated parmesan.
