Grilled Panzenella Salad

Prep time:

30 minutes

Cook time:

15 minutes

Difficulty level:

Simple

Panzenella salad is an Italian salad that is special because it has soaked crusty bread, in addition to all of the other wonderful ingredients. I developed this version of it for a Hasty-Bake Dinner Party cooking class I taught at the Hasty-Bake Headquarters in Tulsa, OK. Everyone wanted seconds!

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 small cucumber sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
6-8 large basil leaves
1 onion, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 small baguette cut into 1-inch thick slices
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Prepare Hasty-Bake for grilling.
Whisk together the garlic, mustard, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
Toss cucumber, tomatoes, and basil in a large bowl with salt and pepper and set aside. Brush both sides of onion rounds and peppers with oil and salt and pepper. Once the Hasty-Bake is ready, grill for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove the vegetables and slice the peppers 1/2-inch thick, separate the onion rings and add them both to the cucumber mixture.
Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil and toast them on the Hasty-Bake until golden. Cut the slices into 4ths and add them to the cucumber mixture. Pour prepared vinaigrette over all and toss together. Serve immediately or the bread will get too soggy.