Grilled Zucchini And Tomato Panzanella Salad

Name: Grilled Zucchini And Tomato Panzanella Salad
Ingredients: 3 zucchinis, sliced lengthwise; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 1 cup cubed day old bread; 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed; 1/2 bunch oregano, chopped; 1/2 bunch mint, chopped; 1/2 cup red wine vinegar; salt and pepper, to taste; 8 basil leaves, chiffonade; 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

Amanda Freitag|Aug. 9, 2013 2:23 pm EST

4 (1 ratings)

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The panzanella (Italian-English cheat sheet translation: a salad with day-old bread, fresh veggies and light seasoning) includes fresh zucchini ribbons, lots of herbs and a light vinaigrette dressing. Is your mouth watering already? Here's the recipe.

Servings

4

Ingredients

3 zucchinis, sliced lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup cubed day old bread
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
1/2 bunch oregano, chopped
1/2 bunch mint, chopped
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
8 basil leaves, chiffonade
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and a grill to medium-high.
Season the zucchini slices with salt, pepper, and a little olive oil and place the hot grill. Turn each slice on a diagonal until marked with cross hatched grill marks, and then turn over to do the other side, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the zucchini from the grill and cool.
Meanwhile, toss the bread cubes with the chopped mint and oregano and a drizzle of olive oil, and toast in the oven until slightly golden, about 10 minutes. Wash the cherry tomatoes and slice in ½. For the vinaigrette, simply combine the red wine vinegar with 1 cup of the olive oil and the sliced garlic and season with salt and pepper, to taste. To serve the salad, first toss together the cherry tomatoes with the bread and then add in the zucchini and approximately 4 ounces of the vinaigrette. Let this sit for 5 minutes until the croutons start to soften, then toss in the basil and serve. Serve the salad using the zucchini ribbons as the structure and make a tall pile in the center of the plate. Garnish the plate with vinaigrette and additional basil.