Sunflower & Shallot Panzanella

Panzanella is a toasted bread salad that can be done in a number of ways. For this particular version, I made it as a soup garnish. If you wanted to make more of a "salad", you can add lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., to complete a traditional salad.

I decided to compliment my Sunchoke bisque with this dish, as it adds texture and rounds out the flavor of the soup itself. I went a simple route with a fresh sourdough boule from a bakery, roasted shallots that I deglazed with vinegar, an assortment of fresh herbs, and lastly, toasted sunflower seeds that tied the whole dish back together.

I used sourdough for this, but feel free to substitute any other quality bread. On my Greece trip they have a similar style salad called Dekos salad. It uses barley bread (husks), feta, olives, tomatoes. The rich flavors and liquids from the ingredients soften the stale bread an impart their flavors.

This is a very simple dish that is dependent on the quality of bread you use. As long as the the bread is solid, toasted and seasoned well, then tossed with other ingredients that soften the crunch, you will have an amazing dish by itself.

Enjoy.

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Ingredients

• sourdough boule, diced 1 ea

• shallots, sliced 2 ea

• tarragon, chopped* 1 T

• parsley, chopped* 1 T

• basil, chopped* 1 T

• dill, chopped* 1 T

• extra virgin olive oil 4 T

• rice wine vinegar 1 T

• avenue spice 1 T

• toasted sunflower seeds 1/2 cup

• salt and pepper to taste

*I went with soft herbs that I had in my herb garden. You can use any mixture of herbs, but if you are using ones like rosemary, you want to make sure you cut them fine, so there aren't large pieces in there.

Method of Procedure

1. Cube up your bread and toss it with avenue spice, 2 T of extra virgin olive oil, and half of your vinegar. Bake in the oven or air fryer until crispy.

2. While the bread is cooking, saute your shallots until they begin to soften.

3. Add the remainder of your olive oil and vinegar and toss until coated. Finish with your fresh herbs.

4. Mix the croutons with the shallots and toasted sunflower seeds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more oil and vinegar as needed.