I hope you had a great 4th of July! We finally had one day of sunshine plus LOTS of humidity, ugh! I thought we had left the whole lot back in Houston but evidently not! I was very warm but it was nice to grill food and hang out with friends.
Julianne had a great time too! She was all over the place playing with other kids, on the moonbounce and with other little toy cars.
Kathleen played it cool and then had a nap. That is the way to go! Luckily there were lots of helping hands so Kathleen was definitely having a good time.
Today I am sharing a yummy salad I made this week. I thought of making it for the party but then I decided to make a sun-dried tomato and artichoke hummus dip. It was fabulous if I might say so.
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So last week I saw Bobby Flay making this salad and I knew I was making it that night to go with our turkey sausages. I enjoy watching Bobby Flay’s Barbeque Addiction show. Now that we have a grill we feel like grilling all the time.
Chef Flay took a traditional panzanella salad and raised it several bars adding a lot of green aspects thus giving its name, “Verde.”This was a quick preparation. So quick that Ryan was surprised that I had finished. I had started dinner preparation’s late so he thought we’d end up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Pish posh. We never do that!
Anyway, this salad was super delicious we ate it all. It is a great way to get your greens in especially if you are growing your own basil. Oh yes. The dressing is the best part. Nice and creamy.
Panzanella Verde
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Ingredients (4-6 servings)
Grilled Bread
- 5 slices of Ezekiel bread
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- Pinch sugar
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 small English cucumber, quartered and diced
- 3/4 cup pitted manzanilla olives
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 3/4 cup roasted sweet potatoes (optional)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Instructions
+For the bread+
Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium. Brush the bread with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until lightly golden brown. Remove, and cut into large dice. Set aside.
Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium. Brush the bread with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until lightly golden brown. Remove, and cut into large dice. Set aside.
For the vinaigrette
Combine the basil, vinegar, garlic, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
For the salad
Put the spinach, cucumbers, olives, capers, parsley and sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add three-quarters of the vinaigrette and toss to coat the vegetables. Add the bread and toss to coat. Transfer to a large platter and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette.. Serve at room temperature
