Enjoy the freshness of spring with this Strawberry Panzanella Salad. Made with juicy strawberries, creamy mozzarella, crisp cucumber, and fragrant basil, all tossed with crunchy ciabatta bread and a zesty champagne vinaigrette. It’s a delicious and easy-to-make salad that’s perfect for any meal!”

Tips

• If making ahead to enjoy throughout the week, store the bread, salad and vinaigrette separately so it doesn’t get too soft. Also, do not add the vinaigrette until you plan on enjoying it. The salt in the vinaigrette will pull the water out of the strawberries and cucumbers making the salad runny.
• If your oven isn’t clean, it will start to smoke around 400 degrees so be sure to fire up a clean oven!

Ingredients

For The Salad

• 6 ounces ciabatta bread, preferably stale, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 heaping cups)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 5 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces (about 1 cup torn)
• ½ English cucumber, halved, seeded and cut into ¼ to ½-inch slices
• ½ cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
• ½ cup torn basil leaves
• ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion

For The Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Preheat a clean[EG1]  oven to 400 degrees. On a large sheet pan, combine the bread cubes, olive oil and salt and gently toss to combine. Tossing halfway through, bake until the bread cubes are lightly golden and beginning to crisp on the outside, but still chewy on the inside, 6-8 minutes. (Watch these closely, bread crisps quickly!) Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, mozzarella, cucumber, parsley, basil leaves and red onion. Set aside.
3. Add champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper to a medium bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until emulsified. Set aside.
4. Add the cooled breadcrumbs and vinaigrette to the strawberry mixture and toss to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for 15-20 minutes before serving so the bread can slightly soften and absorb flavors from the vinaigrette.

Recipe From: Spring 2023 Issue #10

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• Roasted Potato Salad with Herb Vinaigrette
• Strawberry Rhubarb Salad with Mint
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• Tortellini Toss Salad