Winter Panzanella
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s adaptation
I made panzanella a few times this summer and loved it, so I was excited to find a winter version. My initial concern with this recipe was the quantity it would make, because I wasn’t sure if it would keep well. Well don’t worry, it only fed 2 in this house but I think it would work better for 4 as it is.
The Veggies & Croutons
1 butternut squash (if yours is super large perhaps consider only using half of it, but otherwise I don’t see a point in giving exact quantities for this)
1/2 pound of Brussels sprouts
1/2 bunch of fresh parsley (your choice of flat or curly, I prefer curly but I think that’s less common)
Bread for croutons (I used the butts of two loaves of my normal multigrain, sandwich bread because it’s an excellent opportunity to make use of them, but you can use just about any bread here. I would aim for about a baking sheet’s worth of bites for quantity, or less if you want fewer croutons.)
1 small red onion or half of a large one
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Olive oil for tossing everything
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Thinly slice the red onion and let it sit in a bowl with the vinegar and a pinch of salt. It will pickle while everything else is going on.
Peel and chop your butternut squash into bite-sized pieces.
Toss the butternut with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread onto a baking sheet. Spreading is important, otherwise your veggies will steam each other instead of getting nice and roasty.
Prepare the Brussels sprouts by trimming the ends and peeling off the tough outer layers. Quarter the sprouts.
Toss the quartered sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper (or spray with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper, if you have a can of olive oil) and spread onto a baking sheet.
Chop your bread into bite-sized pieces.
Toss the bread with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread onto a baking sheet.
The veggies and croutons all need to go into the oven to bake, so I put the Brussels sprouts and croutons in first and then the squash. Croutons were in for about 10 minutes, and Brussels sprouts and squash each took 15 minutes. Monitor and extend the time if needed, it will depend on how small your pieces are.
While the veggies are roasting, rip the leaves off your parsley (some stem is not a big deal, but a lot of it is not pleasant) and chop it up.
Squash bites out of view, roasting away in the oven!
The Assembly
1/2 cup of olive oil
Extra pepper
Parmesan
Once all of the veggies are out of the oven, whisk in the olive oil to your bowl of onions and season with extra pepper.
Toss all of the veggies (squash, sprouts, onions with liquid) and croutons in a large bowl.
Add the chopped parsley and toss again, taste testing for any adjustments (I added an additional pinch of salt).
Serve in bowls, top with grated parmesan, and enjoy!
Leave a comment if you tried this out, and let me know what you did differently!