Eggplant Panzanella
Panzanella is a gluten lover’s dream salad. Delicious bread, soaking up the juice of fresh tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette, dotted with perfectly salty capers… it doesn’t get better than this. This isn’t a traditional panzanella, throwing some roasted eggplant and peppers to the mix to create a warm nourishing spin on the traditional salad.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 baguette roughly cut or ripped into 1 inch pieces
- 2 heirloom tomatoes chopped
- 1 italian sweet red pepper chopped (sub red bell pepper)
- 1 cubanelle pepper chopped (omit if not available)
- 1 eggplant diced
- 1 small cucumber diced
- 10 basil leaves
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 tsp capers
- 5 Tbs olive oil
- 3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Spread your chopped eggplant on a clean cloth or cutting board and salt all pieces. This will draw some of the water out of the vegetable. Let it sit for about ten minutes, then wipe sweat away with a paper towel or clean cloth.
- Place bread pieces on a baking sheet and toss in one tablespoon olive oil. Bake for about ten minutes, until lightly crispy. (Note: you can go more rustic style and rip your baguette into small pieces as well) Place to the side and let cool.
- On the same baking sheet or cast iron you used for the bread, add your eggplant and peppers, then toss with one tablespoon of olive oil. Roast for about 20 minutes, until veggies are tender. Set aside.
- To make your dressing, simply whisk 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Add a dash of salt.
- In your serving bowl, add tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, baked bread and roasted veggies. Toss to mix. Add capers and dressing, toss again. Ribbon basil or rip with your fingers over the salad and mix in. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes, then enjoy!
Notes
This could serve 2-3 as a meal, or 3-4 as a side dish!