Panzanella is a Tuscan bread salad that’s popular in Italy, and it’s easy to see why. It’s typically made with stale bread, tomatoes, and onions tossed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. The stale bread soaks up all the flavorful juices and transforms into a simple yet delightful dish. For a fall version of this salad, we skipped the tomatoes and added in roasted butternut squash with cumin, ginger, and nutmeg. Sprinkled with fresh herbs and crunchy pistachios, it’s a filling yet light meal that is sure to become a fast favorite.
Roasted Squash Panzanella Salad
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cups 1-inch-cubed French bread
- ⅓ cup plus 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 7⅓ cups)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup chopped roasted pistachios
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Garnish: fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine bread and 2 tablespoons oil, tossing well to coat.
- Bake until bread is dry and toasted, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Let cool completely. Leave oven on.
- On same pan, combine squash, 3 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, cumin, ginger, and nutmeg, tossing well to coat.
- Bake until squash is tender and browned, about 28 minutes. Let cool completely.
- In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, honey, mustard, remaining ⅓ cup oil, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining ½ teaspoon pepper. Add squash, bread, raisins, pistachios, onion, basil, and parsley, tossing well to coat. Garnish with basil, if desired. Serve immediately.
