Robin created this incredible vegetable “salad” last night and I liked it so much that I asked her to write down what she did.  I thought that I’d share it with you!

8 1” thick slices rustic French bread or sour dough bread
1 carton cherry tomatoes
Green beans – about a pound or so – trimmed and cut into 1” pieces
3 or 4 yellow summer squash, cut into 1” chunks
2 to 3 red peppers, cut into 1” chunks
5 to 6 cloves (or an entire head!) garlic chopped coarsely
2 packages pre-cut fancy greens (any combination that includes radicchio for color)

Par-boil the green beans just a bit to take raw crunch off, drain and rinse in cold water. They take longer to cook when grilling, so need a bit of a head start.

Toss together all vegetables and garlic with a generous drizzle of olive oil, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and a generous teaspoon of dried herbs (any combo basil, oregano, thyme, etc., etc.) or fresh herbs would be great too. This can be done several hours ahead and kept in the fridge.

Slice bread and grill 3 to 4 minutes per side till crisp and lightly charred. Cut into bite sized cubes and put in a large bowl along with the greens.

Grill the vegetables on a grilling rack, pan or basket. Grill about 8 to 10 minutes till beans and squash are charred. It’s okay if the tomatoes split open.

Toss the grilled veggies into the bowl with the bread and greens. Drizzle with a small amount of a good balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I used Kraft Balsamic Tomato Basil flavor and it was wonderful!

Serve on plates and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles.

There’s lots of flexibility here – you could substitute or add almost any kind of vegetable. Just be sure the grilling times are similar or you’ll need to par-boil them a bit before. Another recipe called for chopped, hard boiled eggs on top and also used only radicchio. The mixed greens I used included shredded carrots and they added color and crunch.

I’ve been intrigued with Panzanella salads for a long time, but it always sounded weird to me to toss the bread in with all the veggies! Well, guess what? It’s fantastic! This is a rustic and hearty vegetarian feast – enjoy!!

Robin Pollard