Breaking Bread Tradition: Caprese Panzanella

Summer in the Northeast brings fresh veggies and there's really nothing quite like a fresh garden tomato--a real tomato, the way it's supposed to taste--not those mealy, pink things so many restaurants and markets try to pass off to people most of the year.

Traditionally, or perhaps just typically, Panzanella salad is made with day old crusty bread that is cut up and moistened with water before it's added to the salad. It's usually tossed into a salad with capers, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions. Actually, a fantastic recipe for the real thing comes from this book by Marcella Hazan, and someone even posted it out on the web.

I don't really care for capers (don't ask me what I think they look like or you may not want to eat them either), and I'm definitely not an anchovy fan, so her recipe is a little more "done up" than what I'd prefer. In fact, admittedly, my salad is more Caprese than Panzanella. Still, I thought, instead of the traditional Caprese salad, I would try making this classic Italian salad with some gluten free bread and make it more into a Panzanella--though in all honesty, maybe it is just Caprese with gluten-free croutons, but it doesn't sound nearly as pretty, just listen to it here: Caprese Panzanella.

Anyway...

What I used (aka Ingredients):
(Serves 3-4)

2 ripe garden tomatoes

1/2 lb of fresh mozzeralla (pic shows just under a lb)
3 slices of gluten free bread (I used Udi's white)
1/2 cup (?) basil
1 scant TB butter (pic shows much more than I used)
2-3 cloves of garlic (crushed or minced)
2 hearts of romaine
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

First I tossed the gluten free bread into the toaster oven for a few minutes to give it some crunch and to keep it solid (it really falls apart sometimes). While it was toasting I chopped up the tomatoes and basil.

When the bread was toasted, I cut it into squares. Into a small frying pan I added the butter and garlic and let it simmer just slightly (medium-low flame) before adding the pieces of bread into the pan. Tossing the pan around a bit made sure the bread was nicely coated with the garlic butter and that the bread would stay/get brown. Once all the pieces seemed browned I lightly salted them and removed the pan from the heat. 


As the bread cooled a bit, I cut up the mozzarella into chunks and added it to the tomato-basil mixture. Once I felt the bread was sufficiently cool enough, I through it into the bowl with the cheese and tomatoes, splashed it with some Balsamic and olive oil, and tossed it.

  

Though it looked pretty tasty just like that, I still wanted my crunchy greens so I tore up the romaine for individual dishes and plated the salad on top (see picture at the beginning). It really made for a lovely and delicious dinner--and since the bulk of the salad was quite rich the lettuce really added a nice balance of fresh crispness. I mean garlic butter (ok) "croutons," cheese, tomatoes, and basil... who wouldn't love this salad?

I may try making the traditional Panzanella one of these days with a different type of gluten free bread--and will of course let you folks know how it turned out. Also, stayed tuned for a post about polenta in the crock pot...

Berry Nutty and Crunchy Granola

OK, so the title is corny, but there's no corn in this granola! There is, however, tasty dried berries along with walnuts and sliced almonds.

Making granola is pretty freaking easy—I kind of can't get over how much money I've spent on granola in the past when I figured out what it cost me to make about 6 cups of this compared to the organic stuff I've bought before (and I used all organic ingredients).

Ingredients:

• 3 cups oats (regular, not quick cooking)
• 1 1/2 cups of nuts (as mentioned I used walnuts and sliced almonds, but you can use any combo you like)
• 1/2 cup of cranberry nectar or juice (you can also use apple juice or whatever fruit juice you prefer, just know it will likely add to the flavor of the granola.)
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup (agave and honey work, too)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (butter or canola oil can work here, too)
• 1/2 TB vanilla extract
• 1/2 TB almond extract (alternatively, you can use 1 TB of one extract instead of both)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsp (scant) ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup dried berries (I used cranberries and blueberries)

After I gathered the ingredients, I began by  preheating the oven to 325°.  I then combined the oats and nuts in a large bowl. Next, to a small/medium saucepan I added the juice, syrup, coconut oil, extracts, salt, and cinnamon and put it over a medium/low flame. I heated the  mixture until the coconut oil was all melted and it seemed hot enough to melt the salt (almost simmering). Once it looked ready, I poured it over the oats and nuts and mixed it so they were will coated.


Once it was evenly coated. I spread the granola mixture out on a cookie sheet I lined with parchment paper.*

Before Baking

Then I baked the granola in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes—stirring every 15 minutes or so. Once I took it out of the oven it was a nice golden brown.

After Baking

I let the granola cool completely (that took about 20 minutes) and poured it into the bowl of an air-tight container where I added the dried berries. Putting the top on and shaking it for about 20 seconds mixed the berries into the granola nicely.

The next morning (and subsequent mornings, since) I had some with the addition of fresh blueberries and almond milk, and I have to say, it's pretty darn good. Just the right sweetness and the lovely toasted flavor of the oats and nuts with the sweet and tart flavor of the berries.

If you make it, keep in mind that the sweetness level may vary if you use a juice or sweetener that tends to be more or less sweet. For example if you use apple juice and agave, it's likely to be on the sweeter side (plus the berry flavor won't be there, but you could, for example, use dried apricots and apples in it instead of berries). And as long as you use gluten free oats, this recipe is gluten free too. :)

*Using parchment is highly recommended since it prevents the granola from sticking to the pan and you can pick up the paper and pour the granola into a container once it's cooled.