Panzanella – Tuscan Bread Salad from Blue Apron

This is really good and Henry accidently made it even better when he added the pork sauce to the salad.  It was so good I had to make it again from scratch.  I made it with a meatloaf recipe I like instead of the pork.  I used the meatloaf drippings to saute the veggies and give it flavor but any meat fond would work.  Yummy!  I took the pork out of the recipe but it goes well with some kind of meat.

Large dice the baguette. Halve the squash lengthwise; cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces. Cut off and discard the pepper stem. Halve the pepper lengthwise; remove and discard the ribs and seeds. Thinly slice crosswise. Pick the grapes off the stems; discard the stems and halve the grapes. Make the salsa verde.  Finely chop the parsley leaves and stems. Roughly chop the capers.  Peel and finely chop the garlic; using the flat side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste (or use a zester). In a bowl, combine the parsleycaperscheese¼ of the vinegar2 tablespoons of olive oil, and as much of the garlic paste as you’d like. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the baguette on a separate sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer. Toast in the oven 7 to 9 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer to a large bowl.

While the baguette toasts, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pan of reserved fond; (I made this with the meatloaf drippings or you could use any fond from any meat) heat on medium-high until hot. Add the squash and pepper in a single layer; cook, without stirring, 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened. Turn off the heat; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the cooked vegetablesgrapesremaining vinegar, and a drizzle of olive oil to the bowl of croutons. Add the salsa verde that is supposed to go with the pork but tastes better tossed into the salad in my opinion.  Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.