Monday, July 28, 2014

BLT-Styled Panzanella Salad

BLT’s are such a classic-it’s no wonder they are on my top 5 sandwich list.   Of course, it’s even better deconstructed into salad form.  Genius!  I’ve been thinking & planning on making this salad for quite some time now, so I thought I’d better get on it.  It’s super easy & comes together quickly.  The dressing is slightly garlicky, so don’t use so much if you don’t like it-we both thought it was perfect but then again, we are garlic lovers! 

I used fresh lettuce for this salad-AH! I am so excited to be using greens from my garden, it’s so rewarding!  We have replanted lettuce & spinach and they are coming up already quite nicely.  The beets are almost ready to be harvested, and the Swiss chard is almost ready to go.  So exciting!

BLT-Styled Panzanella Salad

Makes 8-10 servings

INGREDIENTS

baguette:

½ baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 tablespoons melted butter

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Pepper, to taste

dressing:

2-3 cloves garlic

1 lemon, juiced

½ cup low fat mayo

½ cup parmesan cheese

½ cup milk

Pepper, to taste

salad:

8-10 cups lettuce

3 vine ripened tomatoes, sliced or roughly chopped

10 slices bacon, cooked & roughly chopped

½ cucumber, sliced

¼ cup sliced green onions

DIRECTIONS

baguette:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Combine the garlic powder & pepper in the melted butter. Toss with the baguette and coat evenly.  Bake for 4-6 minutes, stirring intermittently & watching carefully.

dressing:

Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a blender & blend until smooth.

salad:

combine all the ingredients together. Top with the toasted baguette slices and top with dressing. Serve.

Source: minimally adapted from Annie's Eats