So Many Dishes

I have to admit that I’ve only eaten gazpacho a couple of times, and I wasn’t really thrilled. I’ll admit that, to me, soup is a hot dish. Also, I think my initial impression was that gazpacho was just eating V-8 juice with a spoon. I know that I should try making my own, but there’s always some other recipe I want to try first.

On the other hand, I love panzanella salads. A classic Tuscan panzanella is simply cubes of stale bread with tomatoes, onion, and basil, dressed with olive oil and vinegar. But there are seemingly infinite variations. I love what is essentially a caprese panzanella that I found in one of my Milk Street cookbooks. Ken is partial to a BLT panzanella recipe that we found in Cooking Light. I’ve added toasted bread cubes to a horiatiki salad and turned it into a Greek version.

My favorite panzanella may be the recipe I made last evening, called gazpacho panzanella, another Cooking Light recipe. It includes cooked chicken; I poached a chicken breast ahead of time, but the recipe suggests meat from a rotisserie chicken. The chicken, vegetables, and bread cubes are mixed with a dressing based on, what else, V-8 juice. The result is delicious.

I used 5-grain Italian bread for the bread cubes. I don’t add all of the dressing to the salad. It makes it too soggy for my taste. I put the extra dressing on the table, so that we can add extra as we each prefer. The dressing is quite light, with just two tablespoons of olive oil. It’s a quick dish for a busy day or when you don’t want to spend a lot of time on your feet in the kitchen, which is my current modus operandi.

Gazpacho Panzanella

Salad:

• 4 ounces French or Italian bread, but into 1/2 inch cubes
• Olive oil-flavored cooking spray
• 3 cups chopped tomato (you can seed the tomatoes, but I don’t bother)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped English cucumber
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 cups chopped skinless, boneless cooked chicken breast such as rotisserie chicken, poached, or leftover roasted chicken)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I didn’t have any, so I omitted this time, and it was fine)

Dressing

• 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable juice
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Lightly coat bread cubes with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring once. Set aside.

Place tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, chicken, and parsley in a large bowl; toss to combine.

To prepare dressing, combine all ingredients, whisking together. Drizzle over salad, tossing gently to coat. Stir in bread cubes; let stand 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!