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This recipe for Panzanella Salad with bagels and heirloom tomatoes is a flavorful side dish inspired in the Italian cuisine. This is one of my favorite dishes to use leftover bread and fresh tomatoes. Each bite of this salad is a delight. Between the crunch of the toasted bread, the citrusy flavor of the preserved lemon and the tenderness of a heirloom tomato makes it the perfect side dish for spring and summer.
At home we love bagels however it seems that bagels aren’t eaten everyday so before they get stale I like to toast and use for croutons in salads and soups. But I have also found that using toasted bagels for panzanella salad it is a great idea.
Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 4 in tomatoes cutquarters
- 1 in purple onion cutjuliennes
- 1/2 preserved lemon chopped
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 2 teaspoons of dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 in everything bagels toasted and cutchunks
- 2 tablespoons of microgreens
- 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Place in a bowl the tomatoes with the onions and the preserved lemons.
- Add the olive oil and the spices, and then the lemon juice.
- Incorporate the toasted bagel chunks and stir.
- Add the crumbled feta cheese and the microgreens.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
The trick is to not end up having to dispose bread or any other leftover. I learned from my mother we need to use leftovers in a creative way and repurpose to use in many different dishes. The other day I went to the store and I found this beautiful everything bagels.
Normally I buy bagged bagels but these were baked at the bakery. I thought these bagels were going to be awesome to eat with lox and cream cheese but instead they were very salty and not as good for eating on our morning breakfast.
That same day, I bought beautiful heirloom tomatoes so thinking on how to use the salty bagels I decided to make a panzanella salad inspired in the original Tuscan recipe that uses focaccia bread, tomatoes, oregano, drizzled with a lemony olive oil dressing and finished with crumbled feta cheese.
The result was outstanding, my husband just loved the combination and I got to use the bagels instead of dispose them because of the extra salt. Many times when we try different ingredients and combinations we end up discovering new favorites.
And this panzanella salad with toasted everything bagels is without a doubt a delicious side dish that could also become a main dish when paired with a comforting soup or adding a portion of your favorite grilled meat, chicken or fish to make a complete meal.
Buon appetito!
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