Quarantine Kitchen Carrot Panzanella Salad
Hello friends – what a 2020 we are having! It’s been quite a while since my last post, but I’m happy to be back and sharing with you what I have been up to, including a fun new recipe. I don’t know about you, but I am SICK of talking about quarantine and Covid-19, so I’m going to focus on something different today – this yummy carrot panzanella salad recipe and my newborn baby girl!
With all the crap that 2020 has dumped onto us, it has also brought me something incredible. Now for the reason I was absent much of the second half of 2019… I’d like to formally introduce Miss Jenna Rose, born March 10, 2020. What a time to have a baby right?! Amidst all the corona-scaries, this little one has brought so much joy and light into our lives.
I can’t wait to see how the recipes on my blog evolve with this little one in our lives; for now though, she is on a milk only diet so I won’t be changing my cooking anytime soon :).
2019 was a whirlwind of a year – After leaving my 11 year career as a broker I began a new and completely different job, became pregnant with little Jenna, and my whole world changed. Without going into too much detail, this is where I have been – but I’m back now!
Pregnancy and now postpartum has brought on so many different food cravings and aversions for me. During my pregnancy, blogging became impossible because eating anything other than cereal and peanut butter and jelly became impossible. Now though, I am eating everything in sight and can’t wait to get back into this space.
What have you been doing during quarantine? I’ve been watching an insane amount of Food Network (including Guy’s Grocery Games, which I never thought I would say) and experimenting with all types of new recipes. This includes the Dalgona Coffee trend on instagram. Thank you universe for this creation (my tastebuds thank you, my thighs do not).
The recipe I want to share with you today was inspired by one of my new favorite Food Network shows, The Kitchen. An episode had just aired where Chef Justin Chapple made a carrot panzanella salad and I happened to have most of the ingredients for it. It reminded me a lot of a “kitchen sink recipe”, which appeals during a time like this, or anytime you are just trying to use what you already have to cook with.
The presentation of this salad is so colorful and fun. Because it’s a warm salad there are so many ingredients you can add that would work. For instance, this week old sourdough bread worked perfectly in the recipe after it was toasted with olive oil and salt – homemade croutons! I also happened to have a ton of these baby mandarins in the fridge which added a pop of sweetness.
Once you toss the salad, the creamy vinaigrette coats all the ingredients so nicely it becomes hard to not eat it all. I recommend playing with the ingredients you have on hand. I also made a “breakfast” version of a panzanella with potatoes, zataar, and soft boiled eggs that turned out AMAZING. I’ll post that recipe sometime this weekend!
Happy cooking!
Roasted Carrot and Sourdough Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2-3 Cups radicchio, cut into 1" pieces or any other bitter leafy green chopped
- 1 lb sourdough bread, cut or torn into 1" pieces
- 3/4 cup Olive Oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 lb. Mixed color carrots, halved lengthwise
- 1 Tbsp. Coriander Seeds
- 2 tsp. cumin seeds
- 2 mandarin or regular oranges, peeled
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1/2 cup walnuts, almonds, or pecans
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
For the Dressing:
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- On a large baking sheet, toss the bread with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer and bake for about 12 minutes, until golden and almost crisp. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Keep the oven on.
- While the bread toasts, toss the carrots with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the coriander and cumin seeds. Squeeze the juice of 1 of the oranges and the lemon over the carrots. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to mix. Spread on two large rimmed baking sheets and roast for about 25 minutes. Let cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, shallot, mustard, honey, and the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.
- In a large serving bowl gently toss the bread, carrots, nuts, tomatoes, the remaining orange, and avocados with the vinaigrette. Add the radicchio and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature.
Nom, nom, nom. This looks delicious and your baby is adorable. More recipes please.
Delicious! Can’t wait to make this next week!
Yeah! So happy to hear about your new beginnings with your beautiful baby girl! She is such a cutie!💕
I can’t wait to try this tasty carrot dish. I know it’s gonna be a hit!