Bread Salad Recipe

Cool off with David Creamer's summer salad recipes

Ingredients For the panzanella salad 1 cup chopped romaine (add red oak or other speciality greens if desired) 2 anchovies, filet 1/8 cup roasted red tomatoes 1/8 cup roasted yellow peppers 1/2 pieces of fresh lemon, half a lemon juice and zest 1/4 pound ciabatta bread 4 fresh basil, leaves 1/8 cup Italian olives 1/4 cup olive oil 1/8 cup parmesan reggiano Salt and pepper to taste For the oregano vinaigrette 4 garlic cloves 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh oregano 3 tablespoons dried oregano 2 tablespoons fresh parsley 1 tablespoon honey 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup olive oil 1 tablespoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons onion powder 1/3 cup Dijon mustard Preparation Brush ciabatta bread with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper and place on grill, be sure to let some carbon build up on bread to add flavor to salad.

Once bread has been grilled, cut into 1 inch pieces.

In a medium bowl add chopped romaine and red oak, anchovies, roasted red tomatoes, roasted yellow peppers, fresh lemon(Squeeze juice from half of a lemon and zest), fresh basil, olives, ciabatta grilled crotons and salt and pepper to taste with 3 ounces of your freshly prepared oregano vinaigrette.

Toss making sure to coat greens and vegetables evenly. Place into bowl and top with fresh shaved parmesan cheese

Ingredients For the chopped salad with grilled focaccia 1 ounce salumi, 1/2 inch dice 1 ounce chickpeas 1 ounce black Tuscan olives, pitted and rough chopped 1/2 ounce red onion, 1/4 inch dice 1 ounce tomato, 1/2 inch dice 1.5 ounces mozzerella, fresh 1/2 inch dice 1.5 ounces artichoke hearts, grilled and rough chopped 3 ounces shredded romaine hearts 1.5 ounces radicchio, shredded 1/2 ounce fennel, shaved 1/4 ounce micro basil 1/4 ounce mache 2 ounces olive oil Focaccia, plain and 1/2 inch dice 2.5 ounces oregano-dijon vinaigrette Salt and pepper to taste For the garlic-oregano vinaigrette: 4 garlic cloves 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh oregano 3 tablespoons dried oregano 2 tablespoons fresh parsley 1 tablespoon wildflower honey 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup olive oil 1 tablespoon garlic powder 2 tablespoon minced shallots 1/3 cup Dijon mustard Preparation Prepare all produce and proteins as listed.

Cut the fresh focaccia into 3 inch squares.

Season the focaccia with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill it to a medium char. Dice when done cooking.

Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken and Bread Salad {recipe} – *Actual ...

“It” being roast chicken, that is. It isn’t something that required much work, advance thought or prep or anything like that.

At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, I suddenly realize I should make dinner. You would think that after thirty *ahem* something years of having to make dinner — ok, I exaggerate, make it 20 years since it’s not like I was making dinner when I was four — this realization wouldn’t “suddenly” happen every day at the same time.

But it does.

At 4 o’clock, I suddenly realize I have to make dinner so I rush out to the market, grab a chicken and whatever other vegetables look good, rush back, wash/dry/truss/salt the chicken, then throw it into the oven.

I don’t have to do anything else for an hour. At least not for the chicken. But I do have to toss a salad together or something.

Thomas Keller’s Simple Roast Chicken is something I can do with no advance planning, no prep, and almost no real “cooking” during the hour that it’s, you know, cooking. And then I decided to try Zuni Cafe’s Roast Chicken. Thank god I read the recipe in advance.

Zuni Cafe’s chicken requires “prep.” It requires more than just a sprinkle of salt. It requires dermatological procedures on poultry. It requires at least half a roll of paper towels because you have to wash your hands 34 times because you keep touching the chicken then scrolling back through the recipe on your computer because “Really?! I’m supposed to do what at step 4?!” It requires three days advance notice because it dry-brines in the refrigerator for that long. That means you have to know three days in advance that you want to eat it.

If you suddenly realize at 4 o’clock on Monday that you need to make Zuni Cafe’s Roast Chicken for dinner, you aren’t eating until Thursday night. Zuni Café Roast Chicken and Bread Salad

I am not sure how the recipe appears in the Zuni Cafe cookbook — whether the ingredients for each component were listed separately, whether the instructions were actually sequential since they can potentially happen simultaneously, etc.

Whatever. I am organizing everything how it worked best for me.

The recipe for the bread salad is the one that goes with the chicken. What we actually made, though, is a version with dried figs and pistachios , and a lot more of the vinaigrette (made with lemon juice) and “seasonings.